The Hotchniss Trap
by DragonGecko18
Summary: When Emily left the BAU at the end of season 7, she was pregnant with twins. What happened between her and Agent Hotchner that made them separated from each other? And what can their 11-year-old twins do to bring them back? Totally AU. Inspired by the movie- The Parent Trap.
1. Bailey

A/N: So I have seen a few stories here and there on fanfiction regarding 'The Parent Trap' movie. I thought that it would be a cool idea to write about Hotch and Prentiss as parents so here is the story. Unfortunately 'present day' in their world is set in our future because the timeline wouldn't have worked any other way and I wanted the twins to be a certain age. So its in the future, but I don't think that its really going to matter. Its about the content and the story isn't it?

So anyways... Here is the beginning of the story. Please review and let me know what you think. I do have a second chapter written and many other ideas floating around in my head and in my journals. Your reviews will tell me what I need to change and what I can add. Enjoy the read!

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Bailey

June 2023  
Virginia

It was always the familiar sound of hearing her father's snores echo throughout the apartment on a warm Monday morning that set off the feeling of excitement in Bailey Hotchner. Even when her father Aaron Hotchner had come home from work early on multiple occasions to spend time with his children, Bailey always felt that their time together was cut short. She loved her father more than anything and all she wanted to do was be with him.

As she lay in her bed and listened to the familiar snores down the hall from her room, she glanced across at her alarm clock. _6:25_. 5 minutes until she was allowed to wake up her father. Even though she knew that he wouldn't mind if she woke him, she also knew how grumpy and hostile he was with a lack of sleep- which let's face it was every day of the week.

It was a part of his job, he received calls regarding cases all day long. It didn't matter what time it was or where you were, when dad received a phone call, it generally meant a trip to Aunt Jessies house. Bailey had discovered very early on that Aunt Jessie wasn't actually her Aunt, Jessie was actually Jack's Aunt. However, the woman still treated Bailey as if she were her own niece. After all she never did have a child of her own.

Bailey decided that she couldn't wait any longer and tiptoed silently in her black and white striped pyjamas into her father's bedroom. It wasn't a surprise to Bailey to see the man still dressed in his black suit and red tie. She had seen him on multiple occasions fall asleep on the couch looking at disturbing crime scene photos spread out all around him. Luckily for her, it was normally Jack who cleaned that up before his younger sister could see anything, but there were times when Jack wasn't around, and Bailey couldn't avoid seeing what she saw.

This time was no different except for the fact that there were no crime scene photos anywhere, just her dad asleep on the top of the bed still dressed in his work clothes.

Upon seeing him asleep so peacefully, Bailey carefully crawled across the bed sheets and lay next to Aaron- resting her ear on his chest. She could hear the gentle pulsing of his heart and could feel her head rise and lift with each passing breathe he took. Sometimes she resented his job. It took him away from her and he always had some sort of injury whether it be major or minor. She swore she hadn't even counted half of the scars she found on his body.

What she didn't understand was how he loved his job so much. Bailey was eleven and for as long as she could remember her dad had been in the same job. Not that he had a boring job at all. She had been to the BAU a few times before and met his co-workers on a few occasions, they always smiled at her and tried to be funny- particularly Morgan and Rossi. But she saw how obvious it was that she all reminded them of one person- her mother- and it was no different with her father.

She had hardly ever seen him smile. On the occasions that he did, it was forced. Very occasionally it was a genuine smile.

The loud sound of chiming sounded from her dad's phone on the bedside table. She felt Aaron stir and roll over on his side to turn off his alarm before turning back around to have a little snuggle with his younger daughter.

There was nothing more that Aaron loved more than waking up to see his daughter cuddled in close to him. For as long as he could remember she had always done that. He couldn't complain though, the amount of cases he had seen where children had died always dug a hole a little deeper in him.

Some days he couldn't believe how old she was getting, it just felt yesterday that he was with her mother in the hospital waiting for their precious babies to arrive. He was glad he had at least Bailey. "Dad, why do you never change out of your clothes when you get home?" Bailey asked innocently even though she already knew the answer. He worked too hard. He overworked.

"Bailey…" Hotch said tiredly. "Sometimes, when you have my job… You forget to take care of yourself." He answered simply. Bailey just nodded into his chest. His suit smelt like dry-cleaning, but underneath it all she could smell his scent and felt safe. "Have you got school today?" Hotch asked as he smoothed his hand on her wavy, brunette hair.

"Yes dad. Its Monday…" Bailey murmured back. In all his years' experience of being a behavioural analyst profiler, he hardly ever remembered what day it was. Partly that was due to being away so much and because of travelling into different time zones on a regular basis. He sighed as he rubbed his eyes. He needed a coffee, completing reports at 2am wasn't good for the brain.

"Go get ready for school." Aaron whispered calmly to Bailey. However instead of doing what she was told- which was what she usually did- Bailey acted up and cuddled in closer to Aaron.

"I just got here dad… Just a few more minutes?" Bailey asked him with her dark, chocolate eyes. Aaron sighed and gave in. There was just no point in arguing with his daughter on a Monday morning, not when she was looking at you with an expression he so vividly remembered from another person.

Hotch looked down to see that Bailey had brought in her brown otter teddy bear with her name written his tummy. It was squished between Bailey's and his chest. "I see that you brought in pip for a cuddle too." Aaron said as he patted the otter. He still couldn't believe that it was still stitched together.

He flashed back to a time where Bailey had accidently left the thing at Jessica's house after being babysat. Hotch had carried her to the car as she slept, but she ended up screaming the entire night when she woke in her bed and realised it wasn't there- causing Hotch to call Jessica at 1am and asking her to bring it over so he could get some sleep. She was only 2 at the time.

He glanced back over at the clock. "Right princess… Go wake up your brother for me. I'll go make some breakfast." Hotch said to which Bailey hummed in response. Waking up Jack was her favourite thing in the world. He always slept through his alarm, so Hotch had made Bailey responsible for waking up with some sort of punishment. Lately it had been water balloons, since it had been so hot lately, but Bailey must have used that many that she had run out.

"I'm all out of water balloons." She said simply as she stood in his doorway. Aaron couldn't help but smile at his daughter's antics. She had her mother's wicked sense of humour- something he missed about that woman.

"Uh… Hang on." Bailey watched as her father paced into his bathroom and returned holding some shaving cream. The girl couldn't help but laugh, her dad did have a sense of humour. "Not too much okay?" Bailey nodded and tiptoed down the hall to Jack's bedroom.

He should have known by now to put a decent lock on his door. He was seventeen for goodness sake. Bailey took out a hair pin from her pocket and inserted the clip quietly into the key slot, causing the door to unlock. Now came the fun part.

Jack was sprawled out on his stomach fast asleep wearing black trousers and a grey t-shirt. His sheets were all dumped on the floor. Typical. Bailey placed pip the otter down by the door and looked at the can of shaving cream trying to figure out how to use it. After seeing that it came out of the can just like whipped cream, she glanced at Jack, she realised that he needed a shave anyway. She would just be doing him a favour. She managed to cover the right half of his face before his eyes fluttered open.

Bailey ran out of his room as fast as lightning, quickly picking up pip along the way. Jack- who was still half asleep- dabbed at his face and rolled his eyes. He really needed to talk to his dad about this arrangement. He was sick and tired of Bailey waking him up prematurely. He power walked to her bedroom door (which was now shut) and barged on into her room. Bailey sat at her desk waiting. She laughed as Jack walked in with white stuff all over his face.

"Seriously!?" Jack said pissed off. His deep voice had that angry vibration that could be felt in the chair she was sitting in. Bailey wasn't afraid of Jack when he was angry. She was used to it. "Water Balloons and now Shaving Cream!?"

"Oh… Would you rather water balloons?" Bailey asked him amused. She watched as he bit his bottom lip and walked out of her room silently. When Jack was mad, he could only stutter a few words of rage before he had to walk away and deal with his thoughts. Never in her entire lifetime of knowing Jack had he ever purposely hurt her.

They had had their arguments and tantrums. Yes. But he was genuinely a good kid. And the best brother she could have ever hoped for. Seeing him mad put a smile on her face every morning and occasionally on her fathers too. He didn't seem to smile that often, not even in some of the pictures of him around the house with Jack. It made her wonder what happened to make him so closed off from the world.

Hotch was busy cooking banana pancakes down in the kitchen. They were Bailey's favourite. Followed closely by poached eggs on toast. Since he actually had time to cook this morning, he decided on making pancakes. He had spent enough time away from his kids- or more like his teenager and pre-teenager.

A very angry teenager stomped into the kitchen with shaving cream sliding down his face and shirt. "Dad! I've told you about this… It needs to stop." Jack said irritated as he washed his face off in the sink.

"You need to wake up on time so that it doesn't happen." Hotch said calmly. It always amused him in the mornings he got to spend with his two children of how Bailey always managed to prank him. "You'd think that you'd learn by now." Aaron said with a smirk on his face.

Jack snatched a towel from the linen cupboard and wiped off the excess shaving cream in his hair. "Can't help being a deep sleeper." He mumbled. "Sometimes I wonder what the other one would be like." Jack whispered under his breathe so that Bailey couldn't hear in the other room. Hotch looked around to see if Bailey was around. She wasn't.

"What have I told you about that?" He reprimanded quietly. Jack just rolled his eyes and opened the fridge to have a look what was inside. Hotch hated nothing more than having to talk about his other long-lost daughter. He couldn't even begin to comprehend the pain he felt. But he knew Jack also missed her as well. They had only known her for 9 months before everything all went wrong…

Hotch watched as Jack began to walk back down to his bedroom. The boy was almost if not taller than himself. Jack had inherited his tall and prominent cheekbones as well as his grumpy attitude in the mornings.

"Hey!" He yelled down the hall. "You want a pancake?"

"I'll pass." Jack replied.

"Hey dad." Bailey said happily as she strolled confidently into the kitchen with her school uniform on.

"Hey princess." Hotch replied. "You all packed for school?" Bailey nodded and began to prow in the fridge for food. All that she could find were apples and old leftovers. The fridge stunk. Another reason she resented her dad's job was that he never had time to go shopping.

"Dad!" Bailey complained. Hotch whipped his head around to see Bailey staring at him disappointedly and pointing at the fridge. Her eyes were squinted, and her brow was furrowed. "We need more food." She said calmly.

"You have canteens, don't you?" Hotch said questionably. Bailey just rolled her eyes. Sometimes her dad just didn't understand what his job meant for the rest of the family and that irritated her.

"Dad. I have a swimming assessment today… and I need snacks to eat so that I have energy." She explained. Hotch frowned. Sometimes he got so caught up in his work that he forgot to ask about his kids' lives.

"I didn't know that." He replied somewhat heartbroken.

"Well duh… You haven't been here the last 5 days." Bailey retorted somewhat sarcastically. Hotch winced. Sometimes he just couldn't even look at his daughter. Every little action, every little word and every little glare was enough to send his broken heart into shards. She spoke her mind like her mother once did.

Bailey looked on at her father in sorrow after making her remark. Sometimes she didn't mean it. She said things that obviously reminded him of her mother without her even knowing. But not only did it hurt him, it also hurt Bailey. She never knew her mother. All she knew of her was that she had left when she was a few months old. But it was obvious that she still had a place reserved in her father's heart.

"I'm sorry." Bailey with regret evident in her voice. Hotch knew that he would have to beat himself up for being weak in front of his daughter. He hated talking about Emily with her. Emily didn't want to have anything to do with him and Bailey, so why was he still obsessed with her?

Hotch shook his head and motioned for Bailey to come closer. She did and gave her a big bear hug. "You did nothing wrong princess… It's all my fault… I've been working too much." He said with great sadness. The reality was that he was hurting and had been hurting since the day Emily decided to leave with his other daughter. He wondered what she was doing nowadays, if she ever thought of him. Emily had ripped the family apart.

Bailey closed her eyes and took in her dad's scent. "It's okay… I forgive you." Bailey said momentarily forgetting why she was mad.

"Now… Tell me about this swimming assessment thingy." Hotch asked as he turned back towards the pancakes.

It was no secret to Hotch, and the rest of his team how passionate Bailey was about swimming. Throughout her life, Hotch had taken her to as many swimming lessons as possible as well as the beach. She had won many awards and had come first in heaps of competitions. He was certain she was going to be going to the Olympics one day and getting a gold medal.

"It's a test. Apparently, there is this international swimming workshop being held in New York in a couple weeks. The school can only send two students. That's what the test is. A qualifier." Bailey explained. Hotch nodded and couldn't help but smile.

"You'll ace the test. You always do." Bailey couldn't help but beam showing the deep dimples in her cheeks.

"Thanks dad! Hopefully I get in." Bailey said nervously.

"You really want to go?" When he didn't get an answer, he turned around to see an 'Emily' scowl. "Yup. You want to go."


	2. Madison

A/N: Thank you guys for your support and the reviews... Now its time to meet the other twin, Little miss Madison.

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Madison

June 2023  
London

The pen clicked periodically in her hand while the clock on the wall ticked away. Some days at Interpol were slow. Too slow. Especially for Emily Prentiss. It was only 11am and she was meant to be catching a serial killer. But this case that she was working on… It was different. This one involved the murders of children; the sort of case that made Emily weak at the knees and her stomach lurch.

She was glad that she had an office where at least she could shut the door for her own privacy and keep away from the prying eyes and nosy ears. It didn't change how she felt though- whether the door was open or closed. If anything, it brought up dread and memories. Memories that all she really wanted to do was just bury away. It wasn't that simple though… If only.

Emily glanced at the photo of her daughter Madison on the desk. In the photo taken, Madi was perched on a tree branch. On that particular day the wind had a slight breeze- causing her brunette hair to fly around in wisps exposing the small, light brown birthmark on the side of her lower neck. For some reason she was over the moon that day, her tiny dimples prevalent underneath her high cheekbones.

It would be wrong to say that Madison wasn't an intelligent child. Far from it. Emily had almost gone as far to say once that she could have been smarter than Spencer Reid. She knew how to manipulate her mother and she was very headstrong. It was a quality that Emily always wondered whether she inherited it from herself or from Hotch.

Her thoughts were interrupted as her phone rung on the desk. She recognised the number from Madison's school. Emily didn't hesitate in answering it. "Special Agent Emily Prentiss." She said trying to hide the obvious concern for her daughter in her voice.

After hearing from the lady at the school that her daughter had spent the morning vomiting, Emily wasted no time in leaving Interpol and racing to her school a few miles away. It was a good excuse to get away from the horror of this serial killer and spend some overdue time with her baby.

It was hard being a single mom. And to top that off, Emily had a high demanding job that literally required her 24/7. These days she hardly ever got to see Madi. There was once a time when Madi was 7, Emily was required to travel to Ireland for a case. That case caused them to stay in the country for just under two weeks. Emily was absolutely exhausted by the end of it and Madison was anything but happy.

After asking the receptionist at the school where her sick child was, the woman directed Emily through to the sick bay room where Madi was curled up in the foetal position on the bed with a blue bucket just below her on the ground. Her already very pale skin was even paler than usual; Emily could have even sworn that she even looked green. It broke her heart to see her baby like this.

"Madi." Emily said soothingly as she caressed her arm. She felt cold and her bottom lip was quivering.

Madison looked up to see her mother standing above her and a small flicker of a smile pursed her lips. She actually wasn't expecting to see her mom. Usually when she was sick at school, her grandmother usually picked her up. She would take her back to her office where she played with all of her mom's old toys- most of the time she had to stay the night.

"Mom." Madi whispered back. "I'm cold." Emily nodded and silently cursed the receptionist for not having put a blanket on her cold daughter. Yeah sure, it was hot outside, but that didn't mean that you couldn't be cold.

"I know honey bunny. I'm gonna take you home and we can snuggle up in bed and watch however many movies you want." Emily said soothingly as she brushed a strand of brown hair out of her tired eyes.

"Really?" Madison replied in disbelief. "You're gonna stay home with me?" Emily winced internally. What mother didn't spend time with their baby?

"Of course, honey. I'm not going to work." Emily said happily as she tried to get her dimples to appear. Which didn't seem too hard. "Come on." She motioned. Madi sat up slowly. "Can you walk, or do I have to carry you?" Madi made a face.

"You carrying me through school mom? No thanks." Madi retorted. Emily couldn't help but smirk.

After reaching the car vomit free. Emily helped Madi get in the passenger seat. She rummaged through her messy car for a blanket of some sorts, eventually finding a woollen one tucked away in the trunk. She draped it over her daughter and put the bucket down in front of her in case she needed to be sick again.

Throughout the ride, Emily glanced over at her daughter who was clutching the bucket tightly. "Must be a bug going around hey." Emily said trying to make small talk.

Madison had never felt the need to talk her head off throughout her life. She was very much like Hotch who kept to himself and only had a few friends. She was quiet and studious and excelled at school. And no stranger would know it, but she was fluent in 3 languages; English, French and Arabic.

She was even more quiet when she was sick.

Emily kept one hand on the wheel and patted her daughters back as she began to throw up again into the bucket. "Mom, I don't like this at all…" Madison cried. Emily felt bad and to make things worse, she didn't have any water or a drink in the car to rid the horrible taste.

"I know honey. Nearly home." Emily said as Madi continued to whimper.

After five more minutes, they arrived home. Emily helped Madison inside and onto the couch. After grabbing everything she needed from the car- including Madi's backpack and Emily's laptop bag- she plopped down onto the couch next to her daughter- who was lying down- and placed a small kiss on her cold forehead.

"Want to watch anything in particular?" Emily asked her. Madison rolled on her side so that she could see Emily's face.

"Night at the museum." Madison said after a moment of contemplation. Emily nodded and sifted through their large collection of movies they had watched over the years. Of course, Madi had chosen a movie with Ben Stiller in it. Lately he was her favourite actor.

"Okay… Number one or Number two?" Emily asked across the room. She watched as Madi hummed.

"That's a tough decision mom, surprise me." Emily couldn't help but smile at her daughter. She was so selfless and kind. Much like her father was- or what he used to be.

"Alright well… Since I haven't seen the first one in ages, how about we start with this one and then when we finish that we can move on to the second movie. How does that sound?"

"Like a good idea." Madi said as she flashed her dimples. Emily smiled back at her. After she inserted the disc into the player, Madi requested more water. Emily quickly ran into the kitchen and grabbed a glass before running back into the lounge.

The last thing that she really wanted to do right now was any work, she just wanted to be near her daughter and comfort her- something that she felt she hadn't been doing enough lately. "Mom?"

"Yes honey?" Emily replied looking over at her daughter protectively.

"I want Otis." Otis was Madison's otter teddy. She had had it ever since she was a baby. Emily nodded and ran upstairs into Madi's messy bedroom to try and look for the thing. She could never find it. It always seemed to be hidden under a pile of clothes or under her sheets.

Eventually, Emily found the otter down by the rug on the floor. Hidden in plain sight. "huh. Must need my vision checked." Emily said to herself as she dusted off the otter. The thing seriously needed to be cleaned.

"When was the last time you put this through the wash?" Emily asked Madi as she walked back into the living room. She chucked the otter over to Madi- who had her eyes glued to Ben Stiller on the TV.

"Huh?" Madi asked when she didn't hear her mother.

Great. Madi needed her hearing checked too.

"There is something called cleaning your otter." Emily said as she sat down and brushed a hand through her own hair.

Madi scowled. There was no way in hell she was putting her otter in the washing machine. She had heard stories from Clyde and other people at her mother's work about clothes shrinking in the washing machine. She didn't want that to happen to Otis.

"There is nothing wrong with him…" Madi reasoned. Emily tilted her head and sent Madi a 'really?' look.

"Right… What's that orange stain on his nose. Was that from spaghetti?" Emily inquired. She watched on as Madison began to get more and more irritated with her; the Prentiss scowl flowing into full effect. Emily knew that Madi hated nothing more than being racked up by her mother.

"Mom! He doesn't need to be cleaned… And be quiet so I can watch the movie." Madi said in a little burst of anger. Had it been on any other day when she wasn't so sick, Emily would have wound her up even more, but seeing as though she was under the weather, Emily stopped and just gave her a little smirk.

"Kay. I'll stop now."

Madi ended up passing out halfway through the movie and Emily couldn't blame her. Vomiting and being sick really took it out of you. After checking that her daughter was warm and toasty under the blanket, Emily had a glance through Madi's bag to see if any notices had come through. Most of the stuff she needed to know was sent through email, however in the past, Madi had been known to hide things from her mother that she didn't want her to know about.

Emily commended herself after finding a crumpled-up notice down at the bottom of her bag. Opening it up, she assumed that it was going to be some sort of notice concerning an upcoming event, however realised that it was a swimming notice… One that talked about Madi entering in a workshop for two weeks.

Emily felt a pang of guilt about not being told about the notice, however realised that perhaps Madi was planning on telling her- had she not started throwing up. This would be a great opportunity for her, since she loved to swim so much.

A slow knock sounded at the door. Clyde. Emily concluded as she looked through the peephole. She swung it open to see him standing there with a hand on the side of the wall. "She okay?" He asked with concern. Emily nodded and stood to the side to let him in.

"Sleeping. But I think she is okay. Poor thing." Emily said as she closed the door gently behind them. "Coffee?"

Clyde nodded and took off his sunglasses. "Always my love." He replied.

"Figured." Emily said with sarcasm.

After setting up some chairs in the sun on the porch outside and checking on Madison who was still fast asleep, Emily sat down next to Clyde. "I miss anything at work?" Somehow, he knew she was going to ask that question.

"You've only been away a couple hours Em. Relax." Clyde said in his charming British accent. Emily liked his accent, it never failed in calming her nerves.

"I just wanted to know." Emily said again as she looked over the city. She was lucky that she had been able to find a place that was a little higher than the rest of the city, London was generally quite flat.

"Really? Because I've gotten the sense all day that you don't want to invest in this case." Emily avoided his gaze and bit her lip. Sometimes it sucked working with profilers. "I get it Emily… If you don't want to be a part of this one, I understand."

Emily had to admit, Clyde was one of the only people in her life that seemed to understand everything she was going. He knew about her complicated situation… He knew about Bailey. But she couldn't let that get to her. She had to push through.

"No. It's okay. I'll deal with it." She said stubbornly.

"You're just like Hotch you know…" Upon hearing Hotch's name, Emily tensed up. "Always stubborn about work." Her expression was bland as she glanced back through the window to make sure Madi was still asleep. She was.

"I'm not as bad as Hotch once was." Emily said finally. "At least I try and spend as much time with her as possible…"

"And Hotch doesn't?" Clyde asked her a little confused. Emily just sighed and shook her head. She didn't really want to be talking to Clyde about Hotch. They hadn't had a conversation about him for months and Emily planned on keeping it that way.

She just shrugged and took another sip of her coffee. "I don't want to talk about it." Emily said honestly. Clyde looked at the woman sadly and leaned back in his chair.

"You know at some point; you have to talk about it… I can tell that it is eating you up." Emily raised an eyebrow and huffed. The one thing she hated about Clyde was his persistence. He was relentless. And she knew if she didn't do anything, he'd just keep asking.

"No Clyde. I Don't have to talk about it…" Emily said quietly. She looked at her reflection in her coffee. "Today is not that day."

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A/N: So, My goal with this story is to start exploring the characters a lot more in depth. I am a new writer to this site, so it is a great opportunity for me to explore new ways of writing.

I think most of us know that Emily is a big fan of children, so if she were to become a mother, it would be understandable that something terrible went on between her and Hotch in order for her to have left her baby. She doesn't seem to be the sort of person who would just walk away from it all. So that is something that will be explored and clarified in later chapters.

In terms of when the next chapter will be up, I am not too sure, I am currently writing it so hopefully no more than a week. Thanks for all the support!


	3. Acceptance

A/N: All you guys are so awesome! Thanks for all the reviews... Hope you enjoy this fluffy chapter.

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June 2023  
Virginia

"OMG! OMG!" Bailey practically yelled across the living room as she ripped open a letter from the mail. "It's FINALLY arrived dad! Look!" The young girl held the white envelope in front of her as she sprinted over to Hotch on the couch.

Aaron wasn't entirely sure he had ever seen his daughter so excited. He watched as she came tumbling down on the couch on top of him- wincing as her elbow jagged into one of his ribs. "Hey. Hey… Easy Tiger." He said after checking he could still breathe.

"DAD! Look!" Bailey emphasized as she shoved the letter in front of his face. Her hands shook as Hotch took the letter. He glanced it up and down- making sure that nothing suspicious stood out. After all his years of being an agent, he knew the risks of opening mail- whether it be from someone he knew or even just a normal company.

After deeming it safe, he passed the letter back to his daughter. "It's addressed to you. You should be the one to open it." Bailey's large dimples appeared as she tore open the envelope. Hotch watched her eyes as she read over the letter. She was so focused and determined to get in. He just hoped that her dreams weren't crushed if it happened to be another scenario- which let's face it, was entirely likely.

His question was answered when Bailey started running around the room like a maniac. "I DID IT DAD! I DID IT!" She squealed. Hotch picked the letter up that had been dropped on the floor. He couldn't help but smile feeling proud of his little girl. "NEW YORK! HERE I COME!"

Aaron read the letter over carefully, it was only two weeks. She would be with her coach and she'd have the opportunity to meet all these other children who shared her passion for swimming. It couldn't go that disastrous he concluded. After parading around the apartment for five minutes, Bailey returned to the living room where she stood in front of her father beaming.

The last time she had been to New York was when she was around 8. It was to visit her uncle Sean who had been in a motorbike accident. She didn't have a lot in common with him and she didn't really know him that well. All she remembered was seeing him wrapped up in bandages in a hospital bed.

"Two weeks without seeing you… I don't think I've ever been away from you that long." Hotch said sullenly not really knowing that last part had been subconsciously referring to Bailey's sister. He had been thinking a lot about his other little girl lately- well… He always thought of his other little girl, but the last few days she seemed to be on his mind more than usual.

Bailey shrugged. "You're never here much anyway. I'm sure you won't notice." She muttered casually. Bailey didn't know it, but her words were currently stabbing Hotch a thousand times over in his chest. His daughter could be so honest sometimes that it was brutal.

"Bailey…" Hotch began but couldn't finish as she snatched the letter from his hands and raced down the hall to tell Jack- who had been sleeping the entire morning.

It was officially the summer holidays and Hotch didn't know how he was going to cope with the kids. School terms were hard enough, trying to co-ordinate pick-ups and babysitting- especially for Bailey. Jack was old enough now that he could basically take care of himself and Bailey liked to think she was old enough to be miss independent, but she wouldn't admit that she still wasn't mature enough to cook an egg on her own- not without supervision at least.

The thought popped into his head that perhaps camping or visiting Sean over in New York would be a good idea. At least visiting Sean, he'd be in the same city as Bailey. He could even potentially come and watch Bailey at her workshop, but the thought slipped away as he thought about the consequences. She'd never talk to him again.

He could hear Jack grumbling and moaning down the hall upon being intruded upon by his younger sister. Letting out a sigh, he lay back on the couch and interlinked his hands behind his head. Something was up with Jack. He hadn't been the nicest brother the last few weeks, but then again who could blame him? Sleeping through his alarm and being woken with water balloons and shaving cream wasn't something that was funny every day. It was for Hotch. But not Jack.

A door slammed and Bailey emerged from the hallway biting down on her bottom lip and making eye contact with the wooden floor. Aaron closed his eyes and rubbed his head. It was an expression he'd seen from Prentiss on too many occasions. One that he never seemed to get out of his mind. It seemed that she had passed it on to Bailey.

His little girl eyed up Hotch with her sad and dark eyes, before slowly making her way over to him. It always amazed him how Bailey could be bouncing off the walls one moment and then suddenly crash and burn.

She was a sensitive soul.

Hotch sat up and opened his arms wide as Bailey jumped onto his lap and rested her head on his chest. "What am I doing wrong Dad?" She asked innocently.

Aaron placed a kiss on her forehead and rubbed small and soothing circles on her arms. He hated questions like this. He never remembered Jack as a preteen asking such profound and philosophical questions. Those were more the questions Aaron himself had to ask every day.

"You're not doing anything wrong princess." He reassured her. Bailey wasn't satisfied.

"Well… Obviously I am." She muttered angrily.

Hotch crinkled his eyes and raised a brow. "Why do you say that?"

"Jack doesn't like me anymore." Aaron couldn't help but sigh in relief. Had it been a question about 'not being good enough' or 'feeling worthless' he wouldn't have known what to say. It was easy answering those questions to people you didn't know that well, but with his own daughter… That was a whole other story.

Teenage hormone questions he could cope with.

"Bailey… I'm sure he does lik- "

"NO DAD! Why is it that he never talks to me anymore? He's always grumpy when I walk in the room! I mean… Is it the shaving cream? If it is, I'll stop… Please Dad… What am I doing wrong!" Bailey ranted into his chest.

"Okay… First of all. Let's put things into perspective." Aaron said calmly. "You're eleven and he's seventeen."

The brunette frowned. "What does age have to do with this?"

"Just listen." Hotch said looking his daughter in the eye. Another trait she had inherited from Emily was her impatience. Bailey was one to get frustrated quite easily when she couldn't see where things were headed; something that got on Hotch's nerves on a daily basis. How hard was it to just listen for a moment?

Bailey mimed zipping her mouth and glanced up at her father waiting for him to continue talking. "Jack… Is a moody teenager at the moment. That means that he is experiencing a lot of emotions all at once. It's a confusing time for him."

"That shouldn't be an excuse to ignore me though." Bailey said irritated. Hotch swept a wisp of her short, brunette hair behind her ear.

"I know." He said simply. "He just needs some space at the moment. Perhaps he'll be back to normal once you return from your workshop."

Bailey nodded and cuddled back in close to Hotch. "Dad?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you going into work today?"

Hotch rested his chin on top of Bailey's head. The prospect of going into work was something that didn't seem too appetising to him at the moment, but the paperwork and reports weren't going to write up themselves. "For a little while… Why do you ask?"

"I want to show your team the letter..." Bailey said wasting no time in answering the question. A small hint of a smile crossed Hotch's lips. He loved nothing more than showing off his pride and joy to the rest of the team so How could he say no to Bailey's request? It was just a few hours of paperwork to complete and Bailey was finally at the age where she could occupy herself for that time being. "Please?"

"Alright." Hotch said simply after contemplating where she'd go while he was working. He didn't mind having her in his office, but she could sometimes be a pain and he didn't necessarily want her getting bored. "I can't guarantee that everyone will be there though."

* * *

David Rossi happened to be glancing out his window looking upon the bullpen when a familiar little girl walked in holding what looked to be a small, white envelope.

He sighed as Hotch followed closely behind her with his hand on her back, gently guiding her in the direction of his office. Bailey looked around the room cautiously with the iconic 'Hotchner' glare; eyeing up everyone she didn't know.

There hadn't been a day that had gone by in the last decade that Dave hadn't thought about that little girl's mother. Every time he caught a glimpse of Bailey, her appearance screamed 'Emily'. But Dave had also noticed a lot of Hotch in her as well. She was a good blend of the both of them.

He truly missed the woman in question. Her snark. Her smarts. Her sense of humour. And he knew that he wasn't the only one. He couldn't even comprehend how Hotch had felt all of these years, let alone Bailey. The poor girl didn't have a mother in her life, and it ached in his heart, knowing that she couldn't freely ask Hotch about her without being shut down.

That sucked. As Emily would have said.

He was suddenly interrupted out of his thoughts as Bailey walked into his room with a big dimple smile on her face. She seemed excited about something. "UNCLE DAVE!"

After all of these years, her beam never failed to light up Rossi, even on some of his worst days in his career he would ask Hotch if he could come over and see Bailey. Just to distract him from his thoughts and the horrors he had to endure on a daily basis. "Hello pumpkin!" Dave replied eagerly, pulling the girl in for a big hug. "I haven't seen you in ages! Have you gotten taller?" He asked as he eyed up her height.

Dave knew that she was most likely going to be a tall girl, after all Hotch and Emily were basically the same height. The brunette was already up to the bottom of his chin. "Quick Dave… Put a brick on top of her head." Hotch said watching the two whilst leaning against the doorway.

Out of all of the team, Bailey seemed to get along the most with Dave. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something about Rossi that Bailey admired. He was kind to her. Approachable. And most of all he made Bailey laugh all the time. That was something that Aaron couldn't give to her easily.

"No Dad… That damages brain cells." Rossi laughed and Hotch couldn't help but muster a small smile as well. Bailey was one for lighting up the atmosphere.

"I take it that paperwork is calling your name?" Rossi asked Hotch who nodded in return. Bailey slipped the envelope she was holding into Rossi's hand. "Oh… What's this?" He asked in curiosity.

Bailey stood back and watched as Rossi opened up the letter. "Read it and find out."

Dave eyed up the eleven-year-old in front of him and grinned. She looked so damn proud of herself. He read over the letter and scoffed sarcastically.

"New York huh? Where's my ticket?" Rossi said jokingly. The brunette snatched the letter out of his hands and shoved it back into the envelope.

"Uncle Dave maybe you should come to the swimming arena sometime and trial… It would be super fun swimming with you!" Bailey said enthusiastically. Hotch snorted at the idea of Dave in a bathing suit. In all of his years of knowing Rossi, he had never seen the guy dressed in anything but his work clothes.

Dave laughed and patted Bailey gently on the back. "Well done kiddo… You excited?"

"Yeah… Two weeks away from dad. It'll be a dream." Hotch cocked his head and squinted at his daughter.

"What?" Hotch asked in disbelief. She was only eleven. She wasn't meant to be saying any of that stuff until she was at least 13 for his liking.

"You heard." Bailey muttered under her breathe.

"Stop growing up." Aaron retorted back. Rossi smirked at the interaction between the two of them. He could tell that Hotch was really going to miss her, it didn't seem that fair. He had already lost his other daughter… If Hotch ever lost Bailey, Dave was sure the man would fall to pieces.

* * *

A/N: I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. And eventually I will introduce all the other members of the team. Obviously by 2023 I am assuming that most agents will have left the BAU and I am still deciding who I want to keep and who is going to go, because let's face it... The reality is that the team isn't going to be together for that long. That doesn't mean though that I won't write about them. They'll have their own stories and will have taken their own pathways. And they will still be in contact with the others...

Next chapter coming up is a chapter between Madi and Emily, and then the chapter after that should be when the twins meet. Again... Thanks so much for reading!


	4. Memories

Memories

London  
June 2023

Smoothing her foundation deep into her cheeks, Emily stared herself down hard in the mirror. No matter how much make-up she placed on her face, she could still make out the flaws and scars; the ugly memories of her past trying to push themselves through the cracks. To any other person in the room, she looked stunning… Well… She always looked stunning, but Emily couldn't see that.

The woman had lost that ability a long time ago.

Emily fiddled in her make-up bag looking for her eyeliner and mascara, cursing as she accidently knocked over a can of hair spray right next to the bag. Sometimes she wished she had a bigger bathroom…

After digging tirelessly through the bag, the mascara suddenly appeared, but she still couldn't find her eye liner. It just so happened to be that her number one prime suspect was just across the hall.

"Madi?" Emily called out to her as she began to look in the cabinets underneath the sink.

The girl in question was standing in front of her mirror trying to French braid her hair. "Yes Mom?"

"Do you happen to know where my eyeliner has disappeared to?" Madison froze and tightly shut her mouth. She hadn't meant to have stolen it… She had wanted to try it out and had forgotten to put it back in the makeup bag… Whoops.

The preteen ignored the question -hoping that Emily would get distracted- and continued to try and braid her hair. Upon Madison not answering her question, Emily knew who the culprit was. "Madison, I am serious right now… I know you have it so where is it?" Emily started to scold. Madi heard her mother scoff and footsteps could be heard approaching her door.

It's not that Emily didn't have a problem with letting Madison use her makeup, it was just the fact that she helped herself without asking. And before she knew it, her lipstick would be ruined and there would be no mascara left. Emily just hoped that the eyeliner still worked fine, after all it was her favourite make-up product.

She flashed back to a time when Madison was only 5. The little girl had managed to find her makeup bag and had smudged bright red lipstick all over her chubby cheeks. She smiled at the memory of her daughter looking up at her with big dimples and a cheeky grin. Suffice to say, that day Emily couldn't even bear the thought of scolding her… It was so darn cute.

She leaned against the doorway of Madison's room and watched as the young girl got frustrated with the hairbrush. This was a familiar process to Emily. The eleven-year-old had decided earlier on in the month that she didn't want Emily braiding her hair for her anymore, she wanted to do it by herself. As painful as it was to watch her struggle and get frustrated, it also amused her on how independent she was becoming.

"So? Where is it?" Emily asked in a tone with a hint of frustration. Madison gulped and furrowed her brow. To make matters worse for herself, she couldn't even remember where she had put it. "Madison?" Emily asked getting more impatient by the second.

"Mom… Don't be mad at me."

Emily stared at the girl blankly. She was definitely the culprit.

"Can't promise that Mads… You know full well that you have to ask me before you go through my makeup bag." Madison groaned and turned away from her mother so that she didn't have to look at her.

She hated getting these big lectures from her. Usually it had to do with lack of communication; not showing her school newsletters, going to friends' houses without her permission… Using her makeup. That seemed to be Madi's specialty. She couldn't help it though that her mother was a paranoid helicopter parent… Madi had just assumed that it was because of her job.

For as long as she could remember, her mother had always been over-cautious and had always been on high alert. She repeated the mantra that Emily had constantly told her since she was little in her head. 'There's no such thing as being too safe.'

"I didn't mean to mom… I swear it." Madison tried to reason. Emily couldn't see her face but could tell that Madison was genuinely sorry.

"Well… Do you at least know where you left it?" Madison shook her head and threw her hands down in frustration, causing the braid that she was busy making to fall out into strands.

"No Mom! I don't know…" Madison whispered quietly. She walked over to her bed and sat down on top of it- brushing away the tears that were beginning to pool at the corners of her eyes. Emily closed her eyes and rubbed a hand across her forehead.

She hadn't meant to upset her daughter. It was probably the frustration of not being able to do her own hair properly more than anything. The woman made her way over to Madison and sat down next to her, pulling the little girl in for a cuddle. Not that she was necessarily 'little' anymore… She was getting so tall, but she'd always look little to Emily.

At first Madison resisted the hug, but eventually gave in and buried her face into Emily's black T-Shirt as she wept. "I'm sorry mom…" She managed to utter. Emily sniffed Madi's hair and kissed the top of it. It was impossible to stay mad at her for long and besides… It was just eyeliner. It would most likely show up when she was least expecting it.

"It's okay baby… I forgive you. Do you want me to finish braiding your hair for you?" Madison contemplated the question for a moment. Her arms were sore, and she couldn't be bothered fighting about it, so she just nodded.

"I'm not good at them yet…" Madison said petulantly. Emily just smiled and began threading her hands through her daughters long and silky hair.

"It's not like you get good at it overnight Madi… It requires practice. And lots of it. You did so good with this one though!" Emily said trying to cheer her up. Madi just shrugged.

"Not as good as your ones." Madison said blandly causing Emily to roll her eyes. The girl was such a perfectionist like her father.

Emily whipped her head around so that she was looking at Madi's face. "Practice." She answered simply.

"Did you have to practice?"

"Oh Honey… I have had to practice all the time. I'm still practicing." Emily exclaimed. "Just like you've had to practice swimming every day so that you've gotten good."

"I don't want to practice though… I want to be good at it now." Emily nodded as she twisted strands of Madi's hair together.

"It's harder when you have to do it yourself… You have to use muscles that you've never really used before. But you get used to it." Madi bit her bottom lip and stared at her suitcase sitting across by her door. Her flight to New York was tomorrow. Emily followed her gaze.

"You think you got everything you need?" Emily asked her.

"Yup."

"Underwear?"

"Yup."

"Toothbrush."

"Uh-huh."

"Bathing suit?" Madison turned around mid-braid and sent a sarcastic look towards Emily. She was going to a swimming workshop for two weeks. Of course, it made sense that she'd need a bathing suit. "Kay… I'll stop asking." Emily finally said.

After finishing the braid and tying it off at the end, Emily planted a kiss to her daughter's cheek and then stood up and wandered around Madison's room, glancing at pictures of her friends on her wall. She got to her dresser and brushed her hand over Madi's jewellery, looking at one necklace in particular that brought back so many memories.

_November 2010_

_It just happened to be one of those cases where Emily was just plain traumatised. She couldn't even bear to imagine how those women felt… Having their lips cut off and the immense pain they would have endured. It sent shivers radiating down her spine. She was meant to be meeting Hotch for coffee, and here she was biting on her bottom lip in the middle of Aurora Cafe, not knowing what to do with herself._

_Part of her questioned her sanity when she had cases like this. Why she had decided to take this job… Why she hadn't quit already… But then the other part of her smiled when she thought about all the people, she and the BAU had saved over the past few years. The trials and tribulations they had faced together. As a team and as a family. _

_Looking up, Emily could see Hotch walking in the door, their eyes locked as he walked over to her and brushed his hand over hers, perched on the table. Their relationship hadn't been a massive secret for long… By now the whole team knew that the two of them were head over heels for each other, but they still had to be careful when they were out in public together. There was every chance that Strauss could walk in at any given moment and fire both of them on the spot._

_At least both Hotch and Emily knew that the team would be able to keep their secret._

_Hotch sat down opposite Emily and placed his hands around the coffee cup that she had bought for him. "Black as requested." Emily said as she fiddled nervously with her cup._

_This was the aftermath of the case that she detested. She hated talking about what she was feeling to Hotch, and no matter how hard that she tried to keep it bottled inside, he always seemed to be able to pry it out of her. Whether it took hours or a few minutes, he was there for her and Emily was incredibly grateful for that. _

"_Thanks." Hotch said simply as he took a sip of it. There was nothing better to him than going out for coffee on a cold November day with Emily after a traumatising case. He could tell that she was bothered by this one in particular. "You okay?" He asked her concerned._

_Emily nodded. Every case was hard for her to comprehend, but some were just plain incomprehensible. This case happened to be one of them. "At least we got the girl alive…" Emily said sadly. _

_Hotch nodded in response. "Yeah… She was shaken, but she was okay." Emily nodded and brushed a wisp of hair out of her face. She needed to change the subject._

"_You going to Garcia's play tonight?" Hotch nodded. "Good. Won't do the both of us any good sitting around in our apartments moping." Emily said seriously. Hotch couldn't help but grin. Since when did either of them 'mope?' _

"_I was going to go whether she liked it or not." Hotch said with a little humour. Emily cast a small smile towards him. _

"_What about Jack?"_

"_Jessica offered to babysit for the night. He'll be okay." Emily nodded and glanced around the rest of the café; carefully observing every person around. Hotch could tell that she was being over-vigilant._

"_Hey…" Hotch asked concerned as he watched her carefully. "Talk to me…" He reached across the table and took both of her hands in his. It always surprised him how cold Emily's hands were- even when she had been holding a cup of coffee. _

_Emily avoided his gaze and closed her eyes- hoping that the nightmare case that she was living in would go away. She knew as well as Hotch that it was unlikely. "This case was a difficult one huh?" Hotch asked._

"_That's an understatement…" Emily muttered. She still couldn't get the thought of those poor women that they couldn't save. Hotch's thumb rubbed circles over her hand. He was so good to her. "It's just… So many things happen… And anyone can be the victim… I mean." Emily stopped to try and catch her breathe. "We could die tomorrow for all we know…" _

_Hotch nodded and continued to rub circles on her hands. She was so vulnerable after these sorts of cases and it broke his heart. "What are you wearing tonight?" Emily looked at him confused. _

"_I was… Planning on wearing a red dress. Why?" _

_She watched Hotch as he reached into the inside of his blazer and pulled out a silver necklace with a small diamond pendant attached. It was colourless and crystal clear. Not to mention sparkly. He stood up and walked behind Emily, gently placing the necklace around her and attaching it together at the back._

_Emily was speechless._

"_Uh… Where did you have time to buy that?" Emily asked as Hotch sat down again. He smiled and took her hands in his again._

"_I have my ways…" He replied simply. Emily felt tears pooling in her eyes and she knew she couldn't do anything to stop them from falling. He was so sweet._

"_Thank-you…" She whispered. _

"Mom?" Madison asked as her mother stared blankly at her Jewellery. "Mom!" Emily snapped out of her flashback and looked back over to her daughter who was still sitting on the bed- watching her in confusion.

"Yeah?" Her daughter looked at her concerned.

"You okay? You sort of went off in some sort of trance… It was weird." Emily glanced back at the necklace before looking back at her daughter. She hadn't realised it before, but Madison actually had more jewellery than Emily herself ever did.

"Yeah… I'm okay. Just… had a memory." Emily said not wanting to go too in depth.

"Must have been a good memory…" Madison asked her, trying to find a way for her to open up about what she was thinking about. She knew full well that it must have involved her dad. Half the jewellery Madison owned were hand-me-downs from her mother, which she suspected was the jewellery that her dad must have given her.

It wasn't the first time that her mother had been in her room and just stared at the necklaces. There had to be some sort of story behind it all… And Madison hadn't heard many stories about her daddy throughout her short life. Clyde had revealed little bits and pieces about him here and there when her mother wasn't around. She knew that he was tall. He was strong and he always played the hero.

But she didn't know anything else about him. Where he lived. What he did. What his favourite foods were. It wasn't fair. All she wanted was to get to know him. If he was a good guy, then why did he cause her mother so much pain?

"It was a good memory baby… It was…" Emily whispered as she walked out of Madison's room. The young girl sat on the bed and watched as her mother walked out. She had to come up with some sort of plan to figure out who were father was. Luckily for her, she had the next two weeks and plenty of time to work something out.

* * *

A/N: Who else remembers going through their mom's makeup when they were little? This has been an idea floating around in my head for awhile so it was nice to get it all written up.

First flashback of the story! I really liked writing this chapter and I will definitely be incorporating many more flashbacks in chapters to come. For your reference this flashback was set after 6x08... Called Reflection of Desire. It was nice to give a little hint as to what Hotch and Emily's relationship was like before the twins came along, and also to show that Emily still thinks about Hotch.

In the process of writing the next chapter of Bailey arriving at the workshop, so that shouldn't take too long before that is uploaded as well. Again... Thanks you guys for reading and keep leaving those reviews!


	5. New York

A/N: Just for the record, I am a New Zealander and live in New Zealand, so I am not that familiar with travelling times and scenery around the states. So google maps came in really handy for this chapter... Anyway, hope you enjoy this next installment!

* * *

New York  
June 2023

"Oh Wow…" Bailey stated in awe as the magnificent skyline of New York city emerged into view. She quickly took out the camera from her backpack and frantically pressed the button- not wanting to miss a great photo opportunity. How did she not remember the New York skyline looking so pretty?

"Don't you have a phone?" Oliver Pratt sneered from the seat next to her. It was unfortunate that he was the one that was also chosen to come to this workshop. He had been making sarcastic digs at Bailey the entire drive.

She turned her head around slowly and looked at his cold blue eyes quizzically as she put the camera back in her bag. "No." She replied simply. "Not allowed one until I'm thirteen." Oliver shot a disappointed look towards her.

"Sucks to be you…" He placed his earbuds back in and turned his lean body away from her- looking out the other window.

He may have been the same age as her, but he looked way older than what he actually was. For as long as Bailey had known him- which had been ever since she began primary school- he had always snubbed her and bragged about his swimming abilities. It was part of the reason why Bailey felt compelled to win at competitions, because she just couldn't stand his pettiness when she lost.

Hopefully she wouldn't be put in the same group as him at the workshop. _Please… Please… Group me up with someone nice. _Bailey thought as she scowled at him.

An hour and a half later, the van finally arrived at the campsite that all the swimmers were staying at. Bailey glanced in amazement out the window; there had to have been at least a hundred kids here. Suitcases and duffel bags were scattered all over the ground. The driver came around and slid open the door once the vehicle had come to a stop- Bailey stumbled out as fast as she could, slumping her backpack over her shoulder.

The air around was warm and humid. The suns blades were shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. She couldn't help but smile at the lake just down the bank; glistening its diamonds. Already, she could imagine the navy water trickling down her skin. _This is going to be great_! The girl thought to herself as she walked a little closer to the lake.

"I never even knew this place existed…" Bailey muttered to herself as she took in all the log cabins plopped up around the place. Shoving her hands in the pockets of her shorts, she observed everybody around her. There looked to be kids already diving into the lake, she could see a large floatable unicorn drifting around with two girls laying on top of it and what looked to be half full soda cans sitting on the edge of the small jetty.

Over in the distance, there were rangers and what looked to be the swimming coaches rounding all of the children up. Bailey decided to follow the mob towards the cabins. "Hey… What's your name?" A girl next to her asked. Bailey took in her appearance; she was wearing a white tank-top that had light blue polka dots scattered all over it and dark blue denim shorts.

"Bailey Hotchner… Yours?" The girl smiled and shook Bailey's hand. She didn't look to be any older than 13.

"Abby Jensen. You look new here… This your first time coming?" She asked politely.

"That obvious huh?" Bailey replied back awkwardly. As much as the thought of being at a workshop excited her, she had always had trouble talking to new people.

Abby smiled. "This is my second year… I'm from Vermont by the way."

"Vermont? I hear that it's really pretty up there…" Bailey said making small talk. It wasn't a complete lie. Her dad had always talked about how beautiful the landscape was up there- every time he went up there for a case of course.

"Oh, it is…" Abby said in awe. "You should come and visit up there if you haven't already… What about you?"

Bailey smiled. "Virginia."

"Oh my… Did you drive all the way up here?" Bailey nodded. "That's a hell of a drive. I flew down, it would have taken about 6 hours to get down here if I drove." Abby concluded.

"It wasn't too bad." Bailey said. "I basically read the whole way up. It passed the time." Abby looked at her amazed.

"And you didn't get carsick?" Bailey shook her head. She had never been bothered by motion sickness ever. She remembered back to when she was little, when Derek Morgan had taken her and his new baby Hank to a kids show in Washington. Bailey had brought half her bookshelf with her in the car and spend the whole drive there reading.

"My brother Jack does… But no. Not me. I love to read."

"What are you reading at the moment?" They stopped and Bailey pulled out one of her many books hidden in her backpack.

"It's called The Night Diary. It's about these twins who have to flee from their home in India, because their town is about to become part of a Pakistani state… I have only just started reading it, but it seems like a good book." Bailey said as she handed Abby the book. She smoothed her hand over the cover and opened the book to a random page.

"You must be a really good reader… Half the kids at my school are glued to their phones all day long. No one seems to read anymore…" Abby said sadly. "Do you have a favourite style?" Abby asked in a more cheerful tone as she handed the book back to Bailey.

"I'm sorry?" Bailey asked in confusion.

"Swimming… You have a favourite style?"

"Oh right… That's a tough decision. I've always had trouble deciding if I like butterfly or breaststroke better. But I think today… Breaststroke is the winner." Abby smiled.

"That's cool… I think I'm more of a freestyle kind of gal. Hopefully we are put in the same cabin together, most of the friends I met last year haven't come back." Bailey nodded.

"What kinds of things are they going to do with us?" Bailey asked out of curiosity as she glanced up at the leaders and rangers standing up on a small platform.

"Well… First off, they'll teach us all these cool techniques to help us swim better. Then There will be a lot of competitions, and there will be a lot of races as well. They'll stick us into houses, and we have to compete to get as many points as possible for our house."

"Wow! That sounds marvellous." Bailey exclaimed- causing a big beam to form on her face.

"Not only that, but we can toast marshmallows, play ping pong, create art… Basically you can do whatever you want. All that matters is that your having fun!"

"I totally want to be in the same cabin as you!" Bailey said getting more and more excited by the second.

"Same here!" Abby replied in the same tone.

The girls finally reached all the rangers and stood around patiently as they all tried to sort the swimmers into cabins. Fortunately for Bailey, the cabins were separated into boys cabins and girls cabins- that saved her from having to spend an entire two weeks with Oliver Pratt in the same room. Each cabin also had their own individual leader.

Bailey heard her name be called out on the list. She kept eye contact with Abby until her name was hopefully called out as well. Much to both of their delight, it was. "Ahhhh… This is going to be the best camp… Workshop… Whatever you want to call it… Ever!" Bailey basically yelled.

"Oh, just wait until I show you the games room!" Abby exclaimed as she linked her arm around Baileys.

After moving back towards the parking lot to pick up their duffel bags, the two followed their camp leader Louisa to the cabin that they were staying in. As soon as all the girls strolled in, Bailey leapt for the bed closest to one of the windows. Abby glanced over at her weirdly- still standing by the door. "I get really hot at night…" Bailey clarified.

Abby nodded and sat on the bed next to the one that Bailey had chosen. "This cabins much smaller than the one I had last year…" She stated as she glanced around at the wooden beams holding up the ceiling. "Then again… We only have 8 people staying in this cabin."

Bailey opened the window above her bed before opening up her duffel bag and pulling out her bathing suits. She couldn't decide if she wanted to wear her stripy zebra two piece that Penelope had gotten her or if she wanted to wear her sky blue one piece. "You're going to swim already?" Abby asked her.

"I saw some other kids already in the lake just before… And it's getting hot, so why not?" Bailey concluded. Abby watched as Bailey basically ran into the bathroom and returned no longer than a minute later in her sky blue one piece. "Wanna come with?"

Abby nodded and dug through her own duffel bag for her swimming suits. Once she found one, she changed in the bathroom and returned in a black one piece also. "Let's go…"

* * *

Madison draped her scarlet towel over an old fence post by a tree and tied her long hair up into a high ponytail, before hesitantly walking towards the edge of the lake. Her eyes struggled to stay open as she glanced over the bright lake. She knew that it was a bad idea staying awake the entire plane ride… But who could blame her? She couldn't help it that she was super excited.

After standing at the edge for a few more minutes, Madi finally put one foot in the water, followed by the other one. The water was so refreshing. That was the best part about swimming in Madi's opinion. That first burst of adrenaline that went through your body every time you dived into the water; the sudden change in temperature making your body shudder.

"Hey Bailey! How those photos coming along?" A boy mocked from a few metres away. He was surrounded by two other boys who were muscly and lean. They were all sitting down in the shallow water looking at her with smirks on their faces. Madison looked back at him oddly.

"I'm… Sorry. Do I know you?" Madison asked in a confused matter.

"Hey…" He said turning around to his mates next to him. "See what I mean? She is just so weird. She doesn't even remember who I am…" Madison ignored the comment and began walking away from the boys and deeper into the lake, the chills of the water slowly crawling up her spine.

"Bailey!" The boy shouted at her again- a little more aggressively this time. Madison stopped and turned around in the water and sent him a deep glare. She didn't know why this boy was insisting that he knew her, but it was getting annoying. "Travis here wants to show you something…"

One of the boys next to the 'weirdo' as Madi had named him in her head, slowly waded his way through the water towards Madi. He had jet black hair that looked like it had a ton of hair product in it and acne littered his face like a polluted beach. She recoiled deeper in the water, shuddering as it reached her shoulders. "Hey Bailey…" He said in a slightly creepy tone.

"My name is not Bailey…" Madison said beginning to panic slightly. Why couldn't they just leave her alone. "I'm Madison…" Travis, began to touch her shoulders- smoothing his hands down them softly. Tears started prickling at the corners of Madi's eyes, she knew that this wasn't right. It felt weird. She could see the other two boys laughing at her back in the shallow.

What was it that her mom had told her? If you're not comfortable with a boy… Sack him. Madison pushed his shoulders away from her as strongly as she could and began to splash water in his face. He cursed in response and rubbed his eyes in pain…

"HELP!" Madison yelled as she began to swim away. The unfortunate thing about being at a swimming workshop was that everyone here was in some way or another 'good' at swimming… She couldn't get 10 metres away before the boy was catching up to her and dragging her back. "SOMEBODY HELP!" Madison screamed.

Madison spotted a girl dive into the water off the jetty on the other side of the lake and in a matter of seconds, she was there kicking and punching the boy in the nuts under the water. Travis screamed in pain and began to swim away from both of the girls as fast as he could. The girl began to chase after him but stopped when she saw where he was retreating to. Oliver.

"THAT'S RIGHT! RUN YOU COWARDS!" Bailey screamed as the boy she didn't recognise pulled Oliver and the other boy out of the water. Bailey swum back to see if the girl was okay. Her back was turned away from her.

"Hey…" Bailey said as she swam up behind and put a hand on her shoulder. "You all good?"

Madi nodded and turned around only for her to gasp. She couldn't help but let her whole mouth drop wide open. This girl looked exactly like her. "You must be Bailey…" She stated as she wiped the tears away from the corners of her eyes.

* * *

A/N: I have a feeling that the next chapter is going to be the longest one so far in this story... I have nearly finished it so hopefully should be up within the next few days. I am currently on study leave, so I have been writing a lot more than I usually would. Thanks guys for all your support and encouragement! Let me know what you think about this chapter!


	6. Confusion and Consequences

A/N: Thanks for all the support guys!

* * *

New York  
June 2023

"You must be Bailey…" The girl said as she wiped tears from the corners of her eyes. Bailey's hand- still on the girls shoulder- recoiled and she swam back a little, giving each one of them a little space. This couldn't be happening right now... The girl looked exactly like her. The only noticeable difference she could see was that the girl had much longer hair and she had a light birthmark on her lower neck.

Madison couldn't explain the expression on Bailey's face but could tell that she was processing what had just happened. They stared at each other for a good few minutes taking it all in before Bailey finally spoke up. "Um…" Bailey mumbled- sounding a little awkward. "Yeah… I'm Bailey…" She glanced back over towards the place where the boys were sitting a few minutes ago. "Sorry about Oliver… He's one of my school bullies."

The other twin nodded and began to wade her way back into the shallower end of the lake. Bailey followed suit. "It makes sense now… Why he was calling me Bailey…" Madison said. Bailey noticed that the girl had the slightest hint of a British accent. "I'm Madison by the way… Most people just call me Madi."

Bailey swum around Madi so that she wasn't trailing behind her and glanced at her double. "Nice to meet you… Madi." She said as she held out a hand above the water. Madi glanced at it momentarily before shaking it. Once her foot could reach the bottom of the lake, Madi pushed herself up and began to walk back towards her red towel perched on the old fence post.

She was wearing a two-piece with pictures of cartoonist pineapples scattered all over them. Bailey smiled. This girl… twin… double. Whatever she was, Bailey already liked her. She followed her to the fence post and leaned against a nearby tree, shivering slightly as she walked into the shade.

"Hey… Um… Do you wanna hang out with me and my friend? We were just hanging out over there on the jetty." Bailey said as she pointed to the other side of the lake. Madison wrapped her red towel tightly around her shoulders and nodded. A smile emerged as Bailey began to walk back, Madison caught up a few seconds later after slipping on her sandals.

"I never thanked you before…" Madison said gratefully. "For saving me…" Bailey crossed her arms under her chest and shot Madi a friendly smile.

"It's okay… I bet you would have done the same if I were in the same situation." Bailey replied. Madi tugged the towel a little tighter around her shoulders.

"I was so stupid!" Madi cursed herself. "I should have kicked him in the balls or swum away faster or done something! Instead I just stayed there and cried…" Bailey glanced across at Madison. She had a deep scowl embedded in her forehead. It was an expression that looked familiar to her.

"No. You're not stupid." Bailey said simply. "Sometimes our body doesn't know what to do when we are in peril… We forget to think normally."

Madison scoffed. "Yeah well… I still feel like I should have done something." Bailey heard the girl mutter something in what sounded like French. Whatever she muttered didn't sound like language that her dad would approve of.

"You speak French?" Bailey asked her out of curiosity. The scowl on Madi's face softened slightly and she glanced up at Bailey.

"Yeah… My mom is fluent in it." Bailey opened her mouth in understanding.

"Your mom is French?"

"No. She's American. But she's lived all over the world throughout her life, she can speak about 6 other different languages fluently. We currently live in London." Bailey's mouth dropped open and she smiled.

"Wow. That's impressive… I hate learning French at school. It's sooooo boring… And I'm pretty sure that my teacher officially hates me." Madi couldn't help but laugh slightly.

"Whys that?"

"One of my dad's friends gave me some whoopee cushions for April fools a few months ago… And one day I was bored so…" Bailey made some gestures- re-enacting the event- with her hands, causing Madison to giggle. "Suffice to say, Madam Paula did not take too kindly to my humour."

Madison recalled the memory of her stuffing pillow feathers into her mom's handbag one April fools a few years back. What made it funnier was that her mom was due to leave on a case that day and she didn't have time to clean out the bag. Madi assumed most of the flight to wherever she was going was spent cursing and hiding at the back of the plane.

Bailey noticed the girl giggling and glanced at her with a strange expression on her face. "What's so funny? Did I do something weird? Because if I did, don't be surprised… I do that a lot." Madi shook her head.

"No… I was just remembering something funny."

The two girls arrived on the jetty and saw Abby sunbathing on her back with her sunhat covering her face. "This is my friend Abby…" Bailey explained to Madi as they got closer to the girl soaking up the sun. "She's really nice…"

Madi nodded and sat down closely to Bailey- watching as Abby removed the sunhat off her face.

"Was that girl okay?" Abby asked looking at Bailey. Bailey's eyes darted to her doppelganger next to her- causing Abby to focus her eyes in that direction also. Her eyes immediately widened as she saw the girl sitting next to Bailey. "Oh My… Is this for real? You never told me you were a twin!" Abby said sprightly.

Bailey shrugged her shoulders and looked to the ground. "This is Madi and no we're not twins… We are just…" Bailey looked to Madison for suggestions who just shrugged.

"Not twins?" Abby asked completing the question. "That doesn't make sense… You two are literally identical!"

"Coincidence maybe? I don't know… I can tell you this for sure though, I think my dad would have told me if I had a twin." Bailey said confidently.

"Likewise, with my mom… It's been me and her for as long as I can remember." Madi added. Abby squinted her eyes and eyed up each individual twin- her eyes darting from one to the other.

"Hang on a minute…" Abby pointed at Bailey. "It's just your dad and you right?" Bailey nodded- wondering where Abby was getting at. She then pointed at Madison. "And you've never met your dad am I correct in saying that?"

Madison nodded. Then the light bulb went off in her head. "Wait? Are you suggesting that we actually **do** have the same parents?" Madison said- her heart pounding.

She didn't think that it was possible… If she had a twin sister, someone had to have told her about it by now. You couldn't go around keeping secrets like that for your entire life. "Bailey when's your birthday?"

"4th of June." Madison's smile got bigger and her eyes widened. Having the same birthday and looking exactly the same wasn't just a mere coincidence…

"That's my birthday as well!" Bailey stood up abruptly and looked down at Madison in disbelief.

"No way." Bailey said denying the truth. It just wasn't possible. She was certain that if she had a twin, her dad would have told her about it sooner. Unless… That was the reason he always looked at her with so much anguish in his eyes. He hadn't only lost her mother; he had lost another kid as well. "I… I… I'm gonna get some air." Bailey muttered quietly.

Madison watched the girl sadly as she walked back down the jetty towards the cabins and out of her and Abby's sight. It all made sense, but at the same time it didn't. Madison brought her hand to her mouth and began to nibble at the corners of her fingernails. She didn't like the feelings that she currently had; first the near drowning experience, and now the big bombshell that she had a twin sister.

She could feel Abby's eyes darting nervously over her. Madi could tell that she didn't know what to say either. "Do you think that she'll be okay?" Madison asked Abby with obvious concern in her voice. Abby shrugged her shoulders and wrapped her arms around her legs feeling trapped. It wasn't her intent to be caught in the middle of the crossfire. Then again, it wasn't any of their faults that they were in this situation.

"Maybe you should go and talk to her…" Abby suggested. Madison glanced off in the distance and sighed. She hardly knew this girl and she didn't exactly want to protrude in on her personal space. "I mean… You are… Sisters." Abby whispered.

"I don't even know who she is…" Madi said hopelessly. "What can **I **say to make her feel better?" Abby shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.

"I don't know…"

* * *

Madison couldn't find Bailey for the rest of the afternoon. She searched in all the obvious places that someone would hide; bathrooms, the games room, other cabins. Madi figured that Bailey didn't want to be found for a while and she wasn't comfortable enough to go look in the woods without getting lost.

It must have really taken a toll on Bailey, because she missed her first swimming lesson with the coaches. As she lay in her bed with a book on her chest, she glanced over at the clock sitting on top of the cabin door. 8:30. It was still light outside, so Madi figured that she would take another look around the campsite to see if Bailey had returned from her hiding spot.

No such luck.

Madison had even contemplated asking one of the rangers for help, but she figured if she told one person that Bailey was missing, then the camp would turn into full-blown panic. And she didn't want that happening on the first night here. The last thing she needed was for cops and agents to start showing up, that already happened enough with her mom being an agent.

She stumbled upon a little track a wee way from the campsite and stood there momentarily- thinking about the consequences if she happened to get lost. But it was all worth it if Bailey happened to have gone down the track too. So, she followed it through the forest, eventually coming across a little clearing in the middle. There Bailey was sitting on a log and staring idly at the ground.

She still had her bathing suit on, and her hair was slightly curly at the ends from swimming. Madi experienced the same problem with her hair every time she dried it after getting out of the water.

As she heard a twig snap, Bailey whipped her head around startled and stared back at Madison. "Relax!" Madi whispered as she held up two hands. "Its just me…"

Bailey visibly relaxed. "I guess you found me…" She half whispered. Madison nodded and made her way over to the log, sitting next to her sister. She glanced over at her with concern.

"Bailey… I…" Madison paused. She didn't really know what to say. Bailey seemed to sense this and just nodded.

"I know…" She replied back simply. Her fingers intertwined together as she leaned forward on the log. "How could he do this to me?" She whispered on the verge of tears.

Madison bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes tightly- trying to prevent the tears from falling. But she was unsuccessful. She was in just as much pain as Bailey was. "Why didn't he tell me?" Bailey questioned with a little more anger in her voice- tears streaming down her face.

Madison reached out for Baileys hand and squeezed it tightly. They weren't alone. They had each other. Bailey squeezed it back and wiped away the tears on her own cheeks. "If it makes you feel any better… My mom… Well… Our mom never told me either." Madi said trying to solace her sister.

Bailey rubbed her forehead. "Is mom… oh… It sounds so weird saying that." Madi couldn't help but smile a little. "Is she beautiful?" Madi made eye contact with a twig on the ground below her.

She had never given it that much thought. Her mom **was** beautiful… Even though she always told Madi that she would always be more beautiful. As mad as she was at her mother, Madi missed her now more than ever. "Yeah… She is…" Another tear ran down Bailey's cheek. It had never really occurred to her how badly she wanted to see her mom.

"What about dad?" Madi asked Bailey. The smile from her face disappeared. Bailey didn't even want to talk about her dad, he had caused her too much pain for one day. But she put herself into Madi's shoes and realised that Madi didn't know her dad at all. Just like she had no idea who her mom was. All she wanted to know was what he was like.

"Dad…" Bailey said simply as she contemplated what to say. "He works as a profiler for the FBI. He's away a lot…" Madison's dark eyes widened.

"So… He is a hero…" Madi said as if she was reminding herself. Clyde was right, her dad was a good guy. At least **he** hadn't been lying to her. "Mom works at Interpol as unit chief…"

Bailey's ears perked up at the mention of her mom. "She's an agent too?" Bailey said astounded. Madi nodded. "Wow… You think they worked together?"

Madison shrugged. "It's likely… She never talks about him though. She never talks about her life before I came along… Or when we came along."

"Dad used to work as unit chief at the FBI for a long time… Then one day he resigned and then he returned a few years later." Madison furrowed her brow.

"Why did he resign?" She asked confused. Bailey shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

"This strange guy was stalking Jack… We all had to go into witness protection for awhile until he was caught. That's all my dad told me…"

"Jack? Who is that?" Madison asked. Bailey looked over at her twin and shot her a wide smile.

"My brother… I mean… Our brother. Well, actually… Half brother if you want to get technical." Bailey said thinking about Jack. Madison's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.

"I have a brother?" She whispered excitedly. Bailey nodded and watched as the smile began to fade on Madi's face. She looked deep in thought.

The truth was that Madi was struggling to understand the complexity of the situation. She knew that her mom loved kids. Every time she came home from a case that involved children, she'd lock herself away in her office for a day or two afterwards- only coming out when she needed to go to the bathroom or Madi needed her for something.

There was a big question on her mind… How could she just abandon her other child?

Madi bit her bottom lip. Closing her eyes, she nodded. This situation explained a lot of her moms odd behaviour throughout the years. The avoidance of 'dad' questions. The secret conversations she had with Clyde on the phone when she was upset… The lack of photographs throughout the house. She just couldn't understand her mom right now… She just couldn't.

"How old is Jack?" Madison asked- wanting to know who this 'other sibling' was.

"He'll be 18 in October." Bailey said simply. Madison gasped. He was a lot older than she had anticipated him to be. If anything, she expected Jack to have been younger than Bailey and her. "Something's up with him though…"

Madison looked at her oddly. "Dad says it's just mood swings… But I can't bring myself to believe him. Its like he's a different person." Bailey said mournfully. For once in her life, she didn't want to return home. She had a brother who was ignoring her and a father who had lied about his other child's existence. She'd pay to stay anywhere but there.

That's when a brilliant thought popped into Baileys head. Madison- about to say something- watched as Bailey literally leapt off the log. "OMG… WHY DID I NOT THINK ABOUT THIS EARLIER?" Bailey said silently cursing herself.

"Think about what?" Madison asked puzzled.

"We could swap lives!" Bailey suggested. Madison's eyes widened in horror. That didn't seem like the greatest of ideas… For one thing, it would mean the both of them could get into serious trouble. And the other thing was… She didn't know how her father would react if he found out her true identity. Madi wasn't about to go through with that.

"Bailey? Are you serious?" Madi asked seriously concerned. "Absolutely not!" She said standing her ground. Bailey cocked her head and gave Madi a look.

"Are **you** serious? Don't you want to get to know our dad?" Madi stood there, nibbling at the corners of her nails.

Of course, there was a huge part of her that wanted to know who her dad was. She'd spent years and years wondering who he was, imagining what he was like. Now… She finally had the chance to find that out for herself. But she just couldn't bring herself to go through with it. She wanted to meet her dad as Madi. Not as Bailey.

"Because… I really want to meet mom! And this is the perfect chance…" Bailey said starting to get emotional again as she thought about her mother.

Madi shook her head. "Think about it Bailey… All the things we would have to change so that nobody suspects who we actually are. You have short hair… What would dad say if I came home with super long hair? I don't think he'd buy the 'it grew really fast while I was away' joke."

Bailey shrugged her shoulders and looked up at the trees. "We'll just cut it…" She said blandly.

"What about this birthmark here?" Madi pointed to the spot at the bottom of her lower neck. "I'm not about to wear turtlenecks for the rest of the summer." Bailey glanced at the mark before strutting back over to the log and sat down.

_Oh, my lord she is sooooo stubborn. _Bailey thought. This was going to take a lot of convincing.

"Okay… I see your point…" Bailey squinted her eyes and thought about other ways that she could convince Madi, if she was anything like their dad was, then it should have been easy... "You really don't want to meet him… Do you?"

Maybe Madi would play the guilt game… Their dad was always a sucker for that. Madi looked at her sister astounded and slightly taken aback. "How could you? No… What… Why would you say that? Of course, I want to meet him!"

Bailey couldn't help but smirk. Oh yeah… She was definitely like dad. Madi- realising what Bailey had done- sent a scornful glare towards the girl. Had she known the girl better she would have inflicted some sort of physical pain, but that would just be wrong- considering they had only known each other for less than 12 hours. "THAT! Is SO not funny…" Madi said irately.

"Please Madi…" Bailey said a little more seriously. "If we swap… Mom and dad are gonna have to be forced to meet again… Maybe they could fall back in love."

Madi looked at her sister weirdly and rolled her eyes. "Or they could just swap us again…" She retorted sarcastically.

Bailey stood there dumbfounded for a moment… "You make a fair point."

* * *

A/N: Yup! They've figured out who they are! I wanted to write this chapter focusing on their personalities and who these girls are and how they cope with new situations. Bailey is quite impulsive and doesn't really think before she speaks while Madi seems to be more level-headed and likes to think ahead.

The next few chapters will continue at the camp with them getting to know each other better... With potentially some flashbacks mixed in there as well. I want to thank you guys so much for all the reviews and encouragement! It really does mean a lot...


	7. Ping Pong and Soda

A/N: So glad that everybody is enjoying the story! Here is the next chapter of the twins journey!

* * *

July 2023  
New York

"On your marks… Get set… GO!" Bailey watched as the 8 competitors dived off the jetty and into the freezing water. Madi emerged a few seconds later- coming up for her first breathe of air.

"COME ON MADI!" Madi's friend Savannah yelled. Bailey- who had just come third in a 100m freestyle race- clutched the towel around her shoulders tightly and focused her attention to Madi- who was currently in the midst of a 100m breaststroke race against some other girls.

"GO MADS!" Bailey shouted along with Savannah. The twins had met Savannah in the games room a couple nights prior. The girl was slim and slender, had short blonde hair and light eyes and she happened to be around the same age as Bailey and Madi.

In the water, Madi popped her head up every few seconds for a breath of fresh air. The lake happened to be colder than it was yesterday; she could feel Goosebumps on every inch of her body. It wasn't that she didn't mind diving into freezing cold water, that was one of the best parts of swimming, but having warmer water helped get her muscles working faster- which was something she needed if she wanted to win the race.

As she got further and further away from the jetty, the sounds of kids shouting and cheering on all the swimmers began to drown out. Madi wasn't a particular fan of breaststroke, the constant change of view from water to air to water to air was something that bored her. She preferred backstroke, where she could just lie on her back and not have to move her head around too much. Some of her friends at her school in England named it 'lazy stroke'.

If it wasn't backstroke, then it was freestyle. The best parts about freestyle for her was tumbling on the wall when it was time to change direction and the final sprint towards the finish line. It was a shame really that there wasn't a proper wall to push off of in the lake, but the coaches who were running the camp had anchored down large vertical platforms at the end of each lane under water.

Madi reached the end of the end of the lane and felt the vertical platform beneath her feet, she pushed off of it, diving backwards down underneath the water before gliding back around onto her stomach and rising up for another breathe of air. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a girl she had met in the games room a couple of nights ago three quarters of a body length in front of her- she was fast…

The familiar sounds of cheering began to get louder as she neared the jetty again, Madi began to work harder and faster, if she wanted to get house points for her house, she needed to be in the top three places. She was hoping for at least third. Madi reached the jetty and arose from the water. She could see Bailey, Abby and her other friend Savannah cheering and clapping a few metres away- causing a smile to form on her face.

Her swimming coach Mr Baines knelt down on the jetty and patted Madi on the shoulder. "Well done kiddo… You came second! Not bad huh?" He said enthusiastically. Madi removed her swim cap as well as her goggles and opened her mouth in awe.

"Second!?" She asked in disbelief. There was no way… She was usually slow at breaststroke.

"Yup. What house are you? Was it Phelps?" he asked her. Madi nodded, she really wanted to be in Franklin house- named after Missy Franklin. She was her favourite Olympic swimmer. Instead she got put into Michael Phelps house. She had overheard from some of the other kids that Oliver Pratt was put into that one as well.

"Well done Madison… 3 points for Phelps house!" The coach walked away to go talk to another swimmer and Madison grabbed hold of the jetty, pushing herself up and out of the water. Bailey, Abby and Savannah strolled over- each one of them smiling.

"Madi! You got second! That's amazing!" Bailey said excitedly. She pulled her sister in for a hug- letting the cold-water seep through her own bathing suit.

"I know! I can't believe it… It would have been better if I was versing one of you guys though." Madi said as she shivered.

"Here's your towel…"

"Thanks…" Madi said as she grabbed the towel from Abby and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Do you guys wanna get a soda… I'm so thirsty." The healthier option would have been to drink water, but who was she to care? Her mom wasn't here to boss her around…

"Oh, hell yeah!" Savannah said delighted. "I'm gonna become a sodaholic staying here. Mom and Dad don't let me drink soda at all…" Bailey looked at the girl amazed and disgusted at the same time. She was lucky that her dad at least let her have soda on special occasions.

"That's ridiculous!" Bailey stated- voicing her opinion on the situation. "Not even for special occasions?" Savannah shook her head- causing all 3 girls to widen their eyes.

"You're gonna have to smuggle some in your suitcase when you go back to California…" Abby joked.

Savannah laughed. "Where the hell would I hide it all though?"

"Do you have an attic?" Madi suggested. Bailey sent a sarcastic glare towards her sister.

"Madi… Who the hell do you know that stores soda in their attic?" Bailey said dumbfounded. She had never heard that suggestion ever in her life.

"Hey… The other option is that you could bury it." Madi said ignoring Baileys sarcasm.

"Imagine that, having to grab the shovel every time you needed a drink." Abby said laughing. Savannah giggled and opened up the door into the kitchen- letting the other 3 girls go through.

Bailey found the cooler first and fumbled through it until she found a Coca-Cola, Madi and Savannah decided that they wanted Cola's too whilst Abby chose a sprite. They then travelled off to the other side of the camp to the games room.

The room actually happened to be quite quiet. All the boys had been taken off into the woods for a few days of 'actual' camping in a tent with some of the other leaders, just leaving all the girls to compete in races and earn points at the lake. The only other people in the room were a couple of girls in the corner watching 'Friends'.

Madi scowled as she walked into the room and saw the show. It happened to be one of her mother's favourites. When she wasn't working and had nothing to do, she'd watch all the seasons over and over again- driving Madison crazy. The theme song also happened to be super annoying. Instead, Madi travelled over to the ping pong table, picking up a racket and a small, plastic orange ball.

"Oh no way… I'm totally gonna beat you!" Bailey said excitedly as she went to the other side of the table and picked up the other racket. Madi posed with her eyebrows raised.

"Is that so?" She asked back suggestively. Abby and Savannah found some bar stools and pulled them over so that they could watch the game.

"Dad takes me to play tennis all the time… This should be easy as pie." Bailey said smirking. She loved that she could share her competitiveness with someone her own age. She enjoyed playing with her dad and Jack, but they were male and always managed to beat her.

Madison scoffed and rotated the ball in her hand. She had never really played tennis that much in her lifetime, but ping pong was one of her all-time favourite games. She was certain she could destroy her twin sister.

"If you say so…" Madi said as she bounced the ball on the table. "Let's say the loser has to get a cold bucket of water dumped on them…" Bailey had a smug grin on her face.

"You're on sis… You gonna hit that ball or what?" Bailey asked getting impatient. Madi held up a finger.

"Wait a moment… You're not even going to ask how many points we are going to?" She asked suggestively. Bailey contemplated the question for a moment.

"First person to get to ten points… Abby and Savannah can keep score." Madi shrugged her shoulders and got into a stance.

"Sounds good to me." Madi whacked the ball across the table, only for Bailey to whip it back across to her sister. Jeez she was fast, Madi thought as the ball whipped across the table again to Bailey.

She hit it with the back of her racket- causing it to zoom to the edge of Madi's side. Her racket got there just in time to save it from falling off the table and slapped it back into her sisters quarter. Her racket missed the ball by a narrow inch and Madi started to cheer.

Bailey scoffed and picked up the ball which was rolling underneath the table. There was nothing that she hated more than losing on the first point. She happened to get third today, her sister managed to get second and the last thing Bailey wanted was for her to win this game. "Alright Prentiss… Stop the bragging will ya?"

Madi couldn't remove the smirk from her face. "Come on Hotchner… Forget what a racket was?" Bailey's eyes squinted and her brow furrowed. The ball went launching over the net, bounced right before Madi and came into contact with her racket.

The ball arched high up- nearly reaching the ceiling- before coming back into contact with the table. Bailey had to lean forward to make sure that her racket could reach the ball before whacking it back over to Madison. Her reflexes were on point as the ball made a perfect bullseye in the middle of her racket, she launched it back ferociously as far away from Bailey as possible.

The ball bounced right off the table before Bailey had a chance to whip it back to her sister. She chucked the racket on the table and crossed her arms. This wasn't fair, she was usually good at ping pong and tennis. What the heck was happening? "Something wrong?" Madi asked innocently as she held the racket up by her head.

Bailey ignored Madi's dig and found the ball over by the wall. There was still hope… There was always the chance that she could take the power back. Bailey twisted the ball in her hand, gave it a little bounce on the table before it went launching towards Madison. The racket retorted the ball straight back. Bailey kept her eye closely on the ball- determined not to let it out of her sight.

She deflected the ball with a backhand, causing it to go in completely the opposite direction that Madison was expecting it to go. The ball went zooming past her and hit the wall behind her. Bailey smirked. That's what she was talking about… Madison picked up the ball and stared down her twin, but not before taking a sip of her cola…

Madison used a backhand serve and whipped the ball across to Bailey who struck it back with the same technique. Madi's racket hit the ball at the wrong angle- causing it to go crashing into the net. Her mouth dropped open in disgust and she bit her bottom lip. They were tied now.

"Come on Madi…" Abby whispered. Bailey glanced over at Abby oddly.

"Hey! No bias… You're a referee remember?" Bailey said annoyed. Abby and Savannah giggled. This was a great game to watch.

"Sorry Bailey… Best of luck!" Abby retorted back. Bailey laughed- her dimples coming out to play as well…

* * *

"OHHHHH!" Madi shouted in anger as she threw the racket down. "I almost had it too!" Bailey cheered, grabbed her can of Coca-Cola and took a long sip. She deserved it…

"Cheers to winning!" Bailey said to Abby and Savannah who also had their drinks of cola in their hands. The three girls clinked the cans together whilst Madi watched on in shame. The two girls happened to be tied on 9 points. Bailey topped it off, getting Madi with a backhand. She scowled in disgust- she was so mad at herself.

"I have to say… That… Was an amazing game!" Savannah said intrigued. "It was so close!"

Madi sighed and took another sip of her Coca-Cola. Who came up with the idea of being dumped with ice cold water anyway? It was a stupid idea.

"I guess somebody is waiting to have a bucket of cold water dumped on them…" Bailey said sarcastically. She herself was so glad that she won, she hated cold water. Madi rolled her eyes and walked out of the games room- grabbing her towel off one of the seats on the way out.

"Let's just get this done and over with, shall we?" Madi said with ire in her voice. Bailey smirked and literally ran to the kitchen, to get a bucket and ice from the cooler.

Upon seeing the ice go crashing into the water, Madi winced. She could already envision it crashing on top of her head… Just imagining it was a horrible feeling. Madi went outside and chucked her red towel away from her on the grass. She stood there with her arms crossed and with a less than ideal scowl plastered on her face.

"Would anyone like to do the honours?" Bailey asked as she held the full bucket in her hands.

Abby and Savannah shook their heads and maintained a healthy distance from the twins. "You won Bailey… You should be the one to do the honours." Abby said playfully.

As Bailey began to pour the ice-cold water on top of Madi, the girl instantaneously grabbed hold of the bucket and dumped it on both herself and her sister- causing both girls to scream, but more so Bailey. Abby and Savannah stood there laughing at the spectacle.

Bailey stood there shivering to death in her stiped two piece that she happened to be wearing. Even though she was shivering, Madi could see the deep scowl that was forming on her face. "Wasn't expecting that were you Hotchner?" She asked sarcastically.

Bailey smiled and began to tickle Madison on the stomach. She screamed and both girls fell to the floor, dying of laughter. "Bailey…. BAIL… STOP!" Madison said between laughs. Bailey eventually stopped and rolled down next to Madison who was trying to catch her breathe. What the hell had they been missing out on all these years?

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A/N: It was fun to write this chapter. The next few chapters will be more like this one where they are just getting to know each other and bonding. I have a few ideas for what else they are going to do on this camp and there will be a chapter coming up where they start to plan their 'switch' which will be fun to write.

If you guys have any other ideas on what else they should do whilst at the camp, just pop your idea in a review and I'll see if I can write it into the story. Thanks again for reading guys! Appreciate all the support.


	8. Cooking Shenanigans

A/N: Sorry this chapter is a little late, the last week has been super busy and I simply haven't had time to write, so this chapter is a little on the shorter side. I wanted to add a little love interest for both the girls, so here it is. Hope you enjoy!

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July 2023  
New York

"Ugh… I hate cooking. Why did they have to put **me **of all people on potatoes?" Madi exclaimed as she filled up a giant pot with water. It was compulsory that every swimmer spent a few evenings in the kitchen helping the cooks prepare dinner and it just so happened to be that Madi was selected to help on this particular night.

"Tell me about it…" A boy answered next to her as he dried off a plate. Madi stared at him for a moment before averting her eyes back to the filling pot. The butterflies in her stomach started to spin- it was something that had been happening a lot lately when she met someone who was good-looking- and she could feel heat rising to her already hot cheeks.

Madi shook her head, switched off the faucet and removed the pot from the sink- placing it on the stove. "You really don't want to know…" Madi said remembering her mother's previous cooking experiences.

"_Bye Clyde!" Madi yelled as she waved goodbye._

"_Bye my lovely! Give your mum a kiss from me!" Clyde yelled back causing Madi to screw her nose up. She didn't really get the whole 'kiss your friend on the cheek' thing._

_She walked inside and shut the door gently behind her. "Mom! I'm home!" she yelled as she dumped her swim bag by the laundry basket._

"_Hi sweetie! How was swim class?" Emily hollered from the kitchen upon hearing her daughters voice. Madi strolled into the kitchen and beelined straight for the fridge- even though her mother was cooking perfectly fine fettuccini on the stove next to her. Emily stared at her daughter oddly, the woman would never understand how her daughter could be so fussy when it came to food._

"_I take it you don't want to have my famous fettuccini tonight?" Emily asked her daughter softly. Madi screwed her face up at the leftover pumpkin soup and raw vegetables sitting in the fridge. There wasn't even any juice in the fridge… All she craved was a sip of juice. _

"_You always overcook it mom…" Madi said blandly with a scowl on her face. She had to admit though, her mother's cooking skills had gotten better over the years, but there were still some things that she just couldn't get right- such as overcooking pasta. "Did you buy any juice at the supermarket today?" She whined._

_Emily stirred the pasta in the pot around softly with a fork and rolled her eyes. "Madi… You don't need juice. How is it all gone already? We only got some like 3 days ago." Emily complained back. For some reason her daughter seemed to be going through a stage where all she craved was apple and mango juice. Emily herself had to admit that it wasn't bad juice either, it was just full of sugar- And the last thing Madi needed was to be diagnosed with diabetes._

"_I'm a hungry girl mom… Jeez." Madi spat- causing her mother to furrow her brow at her daughter's mood._

"_Something happen at swimming today that I don't know about. Or are you just in one of those hangry moods?" Emily asked calmly as Madison walked into the living room and switched on the television. The girl ignored the question and switched it to the kids channel, watching SpongeBob. _

_Emily sighed and continued to stir around the pasta. She concluded that Madi was just really hungry and was also tired. It was also nearly 7pm which was quite late for them to have dinner, usually dinner would be ready by 6pm at the latest. _

_Tuesday nights were the worst- Madi had swim practice that didn't finish until 6:30 and on this particular day Emily had some field reports that she desperately needed to process. She was grateful that she had Clyde to take her daughter to her numerous out of school activities she needed to attend. "Madi?" Emily asked softly. The girl slowly turned her head around to look back at her mother. "Want fettuccini or something else?" _

_Madi had that expression on her face that told Emily that she was deep in thought. It was almost as if she could see the cogs turning. "Je veux une Pizza S'il-vous plait." Madi spoke in perfect French. The change in language didn't faze Emily at all, when Madison was very little, she would switch from French to English to Arabic all in one sentence- it drove Clyde insane when he came to visit._

"_Une Pizza huh?" Emily asked in disbelief. What was wrong with the pasta? _

"_Can we order in?" Madi asked with hope. The girl would never understand how her mother never wanted to buy takeaways… Very occasionally would they get McDonalds after a swimming comp, but that was about it. Her Granny Liz bought her more takeaways than Emily ever had. _

_Emily tilted her head to the side and shook her head. She wanted Pizza too… She just didn't have enough money in her account currently- that was the price she paid as a single mom, even when she had a high paying job in Interpol. The rent living here was expensive and the cost of sending Madi to a private school really dug into her wallet every month. _

"_Okay… How about I make you a deal… If you come in the top three in your swimming competition next week, I might take you to the Pizza Parlour downtown. How does that sound?" Madi pouted internally- not being able to eat Pizza tonight- but smiled at the idea of a Pizza date with her mom. _

"_That's a lot of pressure for a young girl like me…" Madi exclaimed causing her mother to smile._

"_Oh, come on Mads… No pressure at all. You'll kill em all. Now… Come and get your fettuccini."_

"Can't be that bad…" The boy next to her stated- snapping Madi out of her thoughts. "Can't be as bad as having your house burnt down." Madi stopped in her tracks and glanced over at the boy- her mouth dropping open.

"That didn't actually happen to you… Did it?" Madison asked concerned. The boy nodded and picked up another wet plate and began to dry it. She remembered her mom seriously burning meals on multiple occasions, but it had never gotten to the point where she had caught the house on fire.

"I'm Fletcher… By the way." Madi nodded and cleared her throat- noticing that he had some sort of slight European accent. She assumed that it must have been German or Italian.

"Madi… You still have a house, right?" Fletcher silently laughed and nodded as he put the plate down.

"Yeah… My Pa is a builder, so it wasn't that difficult to rebuild. Aren't you meant to be peeling those potatoes?" Fletcher asked as he glanced over at the big bag lying idly on the counter. Madison rolled her eyes and opened up the bag.

"Wanna swap?" She joked as she turned to face him. He chucked the towel at Madi and they swapped places. "Woah… Didn't know it'd be that easy."

"I wanna eat as soon as possible." He replied simply. Madi opened her mouth and nodded. "So… What's your story?" Fletcher asked as he began to peel the skins off the potatoes.

Madi shook her head. "Don't really have one… Just an ordinary kid."

"Really? You don't seem so ordinary to me…" Fletcher said non-chalantly causing Madison's stomach to lurch. Did she just get complimented by a boy? "You have a little bit of an accent… So, I take it that your somewhere from Europe OR you have British parents…"

Madi grinned and shook her head. "Neither… But you're getting warm." Fletcher paused for a moment. She couldn't have been from Australia or New Zealand; her accent would have been more obvious. Perhaps Canada?

"Canada?" She shook her head. "America?" Madi started to giggle.

"You're really bad at this." She mocked- causing the boy to send her a grin.

"Oh, give me a break… Ireland?" Madi's mouth dropped open. She wasn't a big fan of the Irish, she had some bullies at school who were from Ireland and they always seemed to tease her about every little thing. Fletcher noticed Madi's slight discomfort and apologised.

"No… Its okay. Its just… I have had some bad experiences with the Irish." Fletcher nodded and filled in the gaps. "I live in England. Which explains my slight accent."

"But you told me you didn't come from Europe?" Fletcher asked confused.

"I don't… I was born in the states."

"I said America!" Fletcher stated astounded causing the girl to laugh. This was fun confusing the heck out of him.

"You didn't specify which type of America. There are a lot of Americas you know. South America, North America, Central Ame- "

"Okay… I see your point." Fletcher cut her off. "I'll try to be more specific next time."

"What about you? Where are you from? Wait… Let me guess…" Madi picked up another plate from the sink. "You have to be European… You were at least born there, you wanna know how I know that? Because my mom speaks 10,000 different languages." Fletcher raised his eyebrows in amazement.

"10,000 huh? That's one hell of a woman."

"Yeah… You got that part right." Madi replied.

As she thought about her mother, Madi felt conflicted. She missed her more than ever and at the same time could do with never seeing her again. All she wanted was answers. Not just from Emily, but from both of her parents. She still wasn't particularly fond of the idea of switching places with Bailey, but if it was the only way she could finally meet her dad it was something she would consider.

She felt Fletchers bright eyes glancing upon her and the butterfly feeling began to swirl around again in her tummy. Fletcher had noticed how Madison had gotten distracted and stopped drying the plate. She had a pained expression on her face, and she looked as if she wanted to cry. "Hey… You okay?" He asked concerned.

Madi nodded and shook off her feelings of resentment. "Yeah… Where were we? Oh, that's right. I was trying to guess where you're from." Madi paused and squinted her eyes at the boy. "Germany."

"Wow… Spot on." Fletcher said amazed. "How did you know?"

"I just did…" Madi said simply. To be honest, she didn't know how she knew either. She assumed it was just gut instincts. Over the other side of the kitchen, Madi spotted her twin walking in through the door- causing her to furrow her brow. She didn't remember Bailey being put on the cooking roster for tonight.

Bailey saw Madison talking to a cute boy across the room. She stopped in her tracks and had a sinking feeling in her stomach. He wasn't just cute; he was really cute. A surge of jealousy plummeted through Bailey. She wouldn't have picked that Madi was a sucker for boys. If anything, Bailey thought that she herself was the one who flirted with the majority of them.

The girl continued to walk towards Madi and the boy occasionally dodging the odd cook running around. "Bailey…" Madison said as the girl approached with a dimpled smile. "Fletcher this is Bailey… Bailey, Fletcher."

Fletcher turned around and widened his eyes. To make things worse for himself, there was another copy of this girl that he had taken a liking to. He dropped the potato he was peeling and shook Bailey's hand. "Let me guess… Twin sister?"

Bailey nodded and let go of his hand and stood closer to Madi. Her twin sent her a confused look. "I'm here for detention." Bailey stated with a deep scowl on her face as Madi glared at her. "I may or may not have kicked Oliver in the balls…" Madison's inquiring glare slowly turned into a smug smile.

"You got detention for that?" Madi asked astounded.

"Apparently its against camp regulations… Coach Percy threatened to call dad and take me away if it happened again." Bailey said as one of the cooks handed her an apron. She stuck it on and stormed over to the sink, throwing in half a bottle of dishwashing liquid. Madi rolled her eyes at her sisters charade and turned back to Fletcher who was laughing.

"What?" Madi asked.

"Fletcher shook his head… Your sisters a character." Madi smirked and nodded.

"She's usually a lot more behaved than that…" She said as she watched Bailey aggressively scrubbing a plate.

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A/N: So when I was writing Fletcher I was imagining him to be about 13. He isn't a 'typical' boy who hangs out and rebels with all the naughty kids. He is a boy who has been raised as a gentlemen... I also wanted to add a love interest for the twins because they are eleven and are starting to learn that a part of growing up is having feelings for other people. So, this is a theme that i'd like to explore in more detail over the next few chapters.

Thanks again for all the reviews and support, next chapter should be up within a week. It's going to be about Bailey and Madi starting to plan their switch.


	9. Never Have I Ever

A/N: Can't believe we are up to chapter 9 already! Had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Tell me what you think of it!

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All the girls were currently sitting outside in the woods in front of a campfire roasting marshmallows and smores. "Can I have a pink one please?" Madi requested to Abby who was sitting near the bag of marshmallows. She handed the bag over to Madison who grabbed a pink one and stabbed it onto her skewer.

"Why all the pink ones?" Bailey asked out of curiosity.

Madison shrugged. "There's something just so bland about the white ones… They don't have any flavour for me." Bailey who was blowing softly on the marshmallow that had just come off the fire squinted her eyes.

The whole getting to know who the 'other twin' thing was exhausting. They still had a week and half of getting to know each other, but still… Every little antic and every little habit that Madison mentioned or displayed, Bailey had to try and mimic that as well. The one thing that she was going to struggle the most with when it came to swapping was eating food, because Madison as she had found out was very fussy…

Bailey herself could eat anything… She loved fruits, she loved vegetables and there wasn't really any particular food on her mind that she didn't eat when she came to think of it. Even the real spicy curry that her dad ordered from the Indian restaurant she would eat.

Savannah arrived at the fallen tree logs holding a ukulele in her hand and sat down. "You play the ukulele?" Bailey asked amazed. She remembered playing with the ukulele that Penelope had in her apartment. She had been able to teach Bailey a few songs and ended up buying her one for Christmas that year which made Bailey very happy.

"I'm an amateur… But I have a few songs up my sleeve." She replied. "This first song I'm going to play is a classic…"

"Please tell me its not twinkle little star…" Abby pleaded as she stuffed more marshmallows in her mouth. She'd be feeling sick overnight, but that was the price you paid as a kid on a summer swimming camp.

"Oh… Don't be so damper… It's the perfect night to sing this song." Madi announced as she glanced up at the bright stars gleaming high in the sky. There was something so special about stars in her opinion. Something so different… She remembered mom telling her that Grandpa lived up in the stars and watched over her, there would be nights where Madi couldn't sleep and she would open the curtains and stare at the stars for as long as she needed to.

The only bad thing about living in London was that there was a lot of air pollution and half the time she opened her curtains, there were no stars to be seen. So, to be at camp and to be able to see the stars crystal clear sent a warmth and sense of security through Madison.

Every swimmer sitting around the campfire sang the song and a few girls stood up and danced around causing everyone to laugh. Savannah then played another few songs by Taylor Swift that Bailey screwed her nose at. She didn't mind Taylor swift as an artist, but she didn't understand why nearly all of her songs had to be about break-ups. She already had a split family and she didn't need to be reminded of that every time she heard the song.

One of the older swimmers ended up passing out 'never have I ever' signs to which Madison and Bailey happily agreed to participate in. "Okay… The first question is never have I ever picked my nose and eaten it?" Practically every girl sitting around the fire furrowed their brow and looked like they were about to throw up.

Bailey recalled Jack on multiple occasions along with Henry and Michael eating their boogers for fun when they were all at Rossi's house for a barbeque a few summers back. It was disgusting and she didn't want to know them at all. She smiled at the memory.

"Never have I ever thrown up on someone?" Bailey turned her sign to 'I have' and listened to the other girls talk about their experiences. When it came to her turn, Bailey laughed.

"I remember when I was little and I woke up in the middle of the night with an sore tummy, I walked to my dad's room and I woke him up, only to projectile vomit straight into his face…" Madison who was trying not to laugh, burst out in fits of laughter.

"What was his reaction?" Madi asked.

"I think he muttered some bad words and then quickly rushed me and himself to the shower. He didn't seem too bothered about it afterwards…"

The next question was 'never have I ever eaten cold pizza?' to which Madi flipped her sign to 'I have'. She loved pizza… Especially when it was cold. Bailey also flipped her sign to 'I have' and instantaneously craved a cold slice of pizza.

A little while later, most if not all the other girls were fast asleep in their tents. The quiet and muffled sounds of snores and girls mumbling in their sleep bounced off the trees and occasionally a light gust of wind would pass through, rustling the leaves and moving the tents slightly.

Madi tossed and turned in her sleeping bag and adjusted her pillow every two minutes. This was the part about camping in the woods that sucked, the ground was too uncomfortable, and the pillow wasn't 'soft' enough for her. "Madi… Stop moving." Grumbled her twin sister next to her.

Both girls rolled their eyes and Madi lay on her back-tugging Otis tight to her chest. "I can't sleep."

Bailey closed her eyes- ignoring her sisters irritability and rolled over so that she was turned away from her. The truth was that she couldn't sleep very well too, and the only thing that seemed to be lulling her out of consciousness every now and then was the thought of their mother. She thought about the time she had found a photo of Penelope, JJ and her mom in amongst all of Penelope's storage and how she had thought her mother looked so beautiful.

"Bailey? How is this whole plan gonna work? I mean… Our parents are world class profilers… We're not going to last a minute…"

Bailey bit the bottom of her lip and Madi could hear her sigh loudly. She was ecstatic that she got to spend a night sleeping in the same tent as her sister, but they hadn't had that conversation yet that explained all the things they needed to know when it came to staying with the other parent. And considering that they and the majority of their friends specialised in profiling, it was going to be a whole lot of tiptoeing and covering their tracks.

"Tell me about Dad's team…" Madi whispered.

The first person that came to mind was Uncle Dave. Bailey told her about the time that she had gone mini golfing with him, their dad and Jack. All the boys came first as always, and she had come lucky last. She also mentioned how on special occasions, the whole team would go to Rossi's house to celebrate- since his house was so big.

"Uncle Dave is Italian… He makes a lot of weird jokes about it."

"Mom was born in Italy…" Madi said. Bailey's head quirked over in her sisters direction.

"Can she speak Italian?"

"Of course, … She speaks every language in the book… Except Russian. Her Russian sucks."

Bailey then went on to tell her sister about Penelope. "Oh, you'll love Penelope when you meet her… She has brought me most of my clothes. She even got me these pyjamas!" Madi grabbed the flashlight beside the bed and shined it at the Hogwarts clothing that her sister was wearing. "I got Slytherin when I took the test…"

"You got Slytherin? So, did I!" Madi whispered loudly. The last thing that the both of them wanted was getting told off by everyone else for being too loud. "My favourite movie is Goblet of Fire, but my favourite book is probably Deathly Hallows…"

"Oh… I love the Deathly Hallows… Penelope loves to collect things and she watches a lot of Movies. She often invites JJ and I to her apartment on the weekends and we do a lot of movie marathons…" Madi nodded and couldn't help but feel slightly stabbed in the chest. The only person she could do things like that with was Clyde and even then, he could be a bit boring- there had been times where they watched a movie and he would fall asleep half-way through.

"That sounds like fun… Who's JJ?"

As Bailey thought about JJ, she thought about the times when she hung out with Henry and Michael along with Jack. Her dad would sometimes leave them at her house while he ran some errands and it gave Bailey a chance to ask JJ about who Bailey's mother was. JJ was very hesitant and 'aware' of the questions that the little girl would ask, but out of all of the team, she was the most open about Emily.

"JJ has given me lots of little snippets about who mom is… Or who she 'used' to be. But you can only ask her about it when dad isn't around. A: Because he gets upset by it and B: I'm not really supposed to ask questions about her…"

Madi glanced over at her sister astounded. "He never let you ask?"

"No… He lets me ask, but you get the vibe that he doesn't really want to answer them. And the answers that he gives me are vague."

"I guess that's sort of the same with mom… She'll stare at all my jewellery for hours, but she won't talk about what she's thinking. Let me tell you about Clyde…" Madi described Clyde's appearance to her sister and told her that he had a very 'charming' and 'easy-going' sort of personality.

She also told Bailey that Clyde was the sort of guy that spoiled her with lots of treats. Basically, the male version of Penelope, but when it came to asking him who her father was, it was clear that his allegiance and loyalty was to her mother. "Even when mom isn't around and I bombard him with a million questions, he doesn't really give up any information because mom has told him not to… He once gave me a brief description of who he is, but that's all I have ever known."

Bailey frowned and pulled out her camera that she had packed in her backpack and turned it on. "I have lots of pictures with the team on here…" Bailey sped through all the photos she had taken at the camp so far and landed on some pictures from her birthday party a month ago.

She pointed out a photo with all the team there at the park- including Derek who had come with Savannah and Hank. Madi instantly fell in love with every member. Bailey then clicked back a few more and showed her a picture of Bailey and Dad. Madi could instantly see where the two of them got their dimples from. There Bailey was standing behind dad with a big smile on her face and her arms wrapped around his shoulders. "This photo's my favourite… Dad was actually genuinely smiling that day…"

Madi traced her hand over her dad's face and smiled slightly. How could he and her mom have broken up? He was so handsome for her and mom was so beautiful for him. "Something really bad must have gone on with them for them to have split apart…" Madi said mournfully. "Oh… Bailey we are gonna get into so much trouble!" Madi whispered terrified- suddenly freaking out.

Bailey- calm as a fly- smirked. "Well yeah… But it will be all worth it right? We'll all be a family again!" Madi shook her head and let a tear roll down her cheek as she looked at the picture of her dad again.

"Somehow I don't think its that simple… The woman that your Dad's team knew isn't necessarily the same woman that I know. She's changed Bailey… She gets sad really easily." Madi said sadly.

"What if bringing us all back together makes her happy again?" Bailey asked after a moment of contemplation. Madison shrugged and pulled the camera out of her sisters hands and scrolled through more of the pictures.

"I honestly don't know… Is this Spencer?" Madison asked amused when she saw a picture of him dressed up as a pumpkin for Halloween the previous year, Bailey was there next to him dressed up as a goth. Bailey glanced over at the photo and started to giggle- remembering that day.

_As soon as Bailey heard the doorbell, she raced to the door instantly- ignoring her fathers request for her to look through the peephole first. Swinging it open, her mouth dropped open as she saw Spencer Reid standing there as a giant pumpkin. "Spencer!" She shouted amazed. She instantly threw herself at the pumpkin and giggled. "I love your costume so much!" _

_Her dad- who had been busy helping Jack put on his Joker Costume he had gotten for his birthday- stood at the door and couldn't help but smile as he saw Spencer dressed in orange, with an evil pumpkin mask on his face. He removed the mask and crouched down to give the girl a hug. "Are you meant to be a goth?" He asked as he pulled back and saw what she was wearing._

"_Uh-huh. It was Penelope's idea. She had a lot of costumes in her closet that she needed to get rid of…" Spencer was going to say something along the lines of 'you look so much like your mother' but as he glanced up at Hotch standing in the doorway, he could see that he was thinking the exact same thing. "Are you gonna come in or what?" She asked impatiently._

"_Uh… If I can fit…" Spencer said awkwardly, as he tried to squeeze the costume through the narrow doorway, only just being able to make it through- exhibiting laughs from both the goth and her father. Jack walked into the living room, his face completely covered in white makeup and gave Spencer a huge dimpled smile. "Hey Jack! You ready?" Spencer asked excited. This was his favourite time of the year, trick or treating with all the kids._

"_Hey! We're not leaving yet! We have to wait for Garcia and Henry and Michael!" Bailey announced. "Dad, where is your costume?" Bailey asked annoyed as she saw her father dressed in just shorts and a T-Shirt._

"_Yeah… Where is your costume? I thought you were going to dress up as Darth Vader?" Jack piped in. Hotch held his hands up in front of him in defence and shook his head._

"_Come on Dad! Please…" Bailey begged as she ran up to him and began to tickle him on the stomach. Jack joined in and helped Bailey until their father was on the floor in fits of laughter begging them to stop._

"_OKAY…OKAY! I'll get changed…" He said out of breath. _

"Spencer could barely fit through the door in that costume…" Bailey said between giggles. "The real reason I dressed up as a goth that Halloween was because JJ and Penelope secretly told me that mom dressed as a goth during high school… So, I wanted to do the same to be close to her…"

Madi's eyes widened in horror. "She never told me she was a goth!"

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A/N: Okay so... It was about time that they sat down and had a good conversation about what their lives are like back at home. I wanted to kind of incorporate and show how nervous the girls are getting about it- especially Madi. I also really liked the flashback from Halloween and I was going to write them actually trick or treating, but I feel as though I will be writing about that in later chapters...

Thanks for the reviews and support guys! Keep leaving them and don't be afraid to ask any questions or if you would like me to write something into the story!


	10. Letting Go

A/N: So this is the final chapter of the twins being together at the camp. Hope you enjoy! And please feel free to leave any reviews or comments that you have!

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"No, wait!" Madi said abruptly. The scissors in Bailey's hand recoiled as her twin jerked her head away from her. "Just… Give me a minute."

"I've given you half an hour… How much more time do you need?" Madi looked at herself in the mirror and pulled gently on her long hair that travelled all the way down her chest. She wasn't entirely sure that she could give it all up. Cutting her hair was one thing… But to have it done by someone who had never cut hair before was an entirely different situation.

"Just… Don't mess it up." Madi spat as she crossed her arms and shut her eyes tightly.

"How the hell am I going to mess it up? I'm just cutting it… Would be another story if I was dyeing it."

"Would you just cut it now… Please." Madi said through gritted teeth. It was now or never.

Bailey walked around the chair that her sister was sitting in and sized up the long hair with her scissors where she needed to cut. She had seen hairdressers do this a dozen times, so she had a fair idea of what to do. She looked at her own hair in the mirror and fiddled with a piece of hair, before finally taking the scissors and chopping all Madi's hair off that was below the shoulders.

Madi tried not to cry as she sat in the chair. She had loved her long hair and so did her mom. All she hoped for was that Bailey didn't screw up, there were some hairstyles out there that were less than attractive, and Madison did not want to turn out like one of those people…

"Tilt your head this way…" Madison- still with her eyes closed tight- obeyed. Bailey snipped off little bits and pieces here and there to make sure that their hair was close to identical. "Okay… I think I'm done."

Madi opened her eyes but chose not to look in the mirror- instead chose to look down at her shorts. In her peripheral vision she couldn't see the usually long and knotty strands of hair flowing down her shirt, instead she saw nothing. Slowly glancing into the mirror, Madison gasped, and her mouth dropped open. She was amazed how she looked… Bailey had managed to give her the exact same hairstyle. With all other things considered, the situation could have been worse…

"What do you think?"

The twin in the seat had tears pooling at the corners of her dark eyes. This was really happening… "Oh…" Madi mustered. She really had no words for her hair. She missed it all already, but she adored it at the same time.

"I'll tell you what I think… I think you look like you could pull this off." Bailey said as she brushed off bits of hair from her shirt.

"Please don't tell me we are leaving tomorrow…" Madi said, her eyes widening.

"Uh-huh." The knot in Madison's stomach twisted and she felt nauseous, and she didn't even know why. Whether it was the thought of meeting her father or screwing everything up or just everything, it was literally making her sick to her stomach.

The twins cleaned up the long strands of hair lying around on the bathroom floor and threw it all into the bin, before going out to see Abby and Savanah who were swimming in the lake and drinking soda. Savannah glanced over at the girls and squinted her eyes trying to figure out who was who. "Well… You must have done a good job Bailey… They don't know who we are."

"Huh… That's funny." Bailey said smirking. She dipped her feet into the water and let it seep in between her toes.

"So… You guys are really swapping lives?" Abby asked as she swum up to the shore. They both nodded, looking at each other with that slight hint of uncertainty on their faces.

Madison glanced around and spotted two red kayaks lying face down on the grass, her sister and the two other girls followed her gaze and their mouths erupted into big smiles. "Oh, that's a great idea." Abby concluded as she began to run towards them. Madi began to run also but was held back by Bailey tugging on her arm.

"Can I go with you?" Madi nodded.

"Okay. But I'm gonna paddle because I don't trust you to not crash it." Madison was referring to other day when some of the swimmers got to go for a day trip into the city. The girls had wanted to go in the dodgem cars and Bailey for the life of her couldn't seem to travel in a straight line and kept crashing into either the wall or her sister.

Bailey pulled a face. "How the hell do you crash a kayak?!"

"Oh, I don't know… By not looking where you're going and leaning from side to side?"

"That's called capsizing…" She retorted.

"Whatever…"

Abby spotted some lifejackets perched upon the fence and ran over- giving the twins and Savannah one each. They then ran back towards the kayaks and pulled them into the water, Madison sat in the front whilst Bailey clumsily climbed into the back.

"Last ones to get to the other side are the rotten eggs!" Madi yelled before storming off with the paddles. Abby and Savannah glanced at each other in horror before violently fighting each other for who was going to paddle.

As Bailey gripped the sides of the kayak, she gazed back at the shore. The other two girls were still fighting for the paddles. Eventually Abby shoved the paddles in Savannahs hands and sulked in the back of the kayak.

"Hurry up Mads! They're catching us!" Madison glanced back and noticed that the girls were indeed catching up. She began to paddle harder with all her might, feeling the sting of lactic acid already building up in her arms. It didn't stop her though.

"Flick me a paddle…"

"What?"

"I said give me a paddle…"

"Bailey- "

"You can't do the rest on your own. We need to share the load." The girl sighed in protest and passed one of the oars back to her sister.

"How the hell is this going to work?" Madi asked concerned as she looked behind her and noticed that the other two girls had gotten closer.

"Easy. On the count of three, we push back at the same time. Kay?" Madi nodded. "one, two, three."

Both girls pushed the oars back at the same time simultaneously. Already, Madi noticed the difference of having two people sharing the workload, their kayak was beginning to get faster again.

"That was the smartest idea you've ever had Bailey."

She quirked her eyebrows and couldn't help but smirk. "Did you just call me dumb?"

"No! I would never call you dumb."

"Good to know…" Bailey glanced back and noticed that the girls were catching up, she then turned back and squinted her eyes in the distance to the other side of the lake that was still another good 100 metres away. "Ready for the final sprint?"

Madi's arm was killing her. "NO! can't we just take it easy until the end?"

"Dude! I don't wanna be called a rotten egg! Don't you remember that this was your idea?"

"Oh, was it?" Bailey rolled her eyes and began to increase the paddle speed- much to her sisters disgust. Once they reached the other side of the lake, Madison jumped out and collapsed on the shore breathless, while Bailey pointed at the rotten eggs still approaching the shore.

"We… Are never… Doing that again…" Madi stuttered as she struggled to regain her breathe. "You're paddling back."

"Really? I thought you didn't trust me?" Bailey mocked causing Madison to send her sister a sarcastic glare.

"As long as you avoid the trees, I think you'll be good."

Madison stood outside the cabin with Bailey's heavy duffel bag slumped over her shoulder- causing her to groan in pain. What the hell did she have in there? The butterflies in her stomach were bouncing from side to side and she didn't know whether she wanted to scream out of excitement or just be sick. As she watched other swimmers get into their respective vans and buses, she couldn't help but take a shaky breath.

This was all really happening. She was finally on the way to meeting her dad and to meet her brother who she had never known had existed. The thought of it all terrified her, there was just so much potential to screw up, say the wrong thing, do something wrong… It also scared her to think of how her dad would react when he found out that she wasn't actually Bailey. Would he hate her? Would he not want to talk to her?

She felt someone slip a note into her hand next to her. Fletcher. "It's my phone number… Whenever you want to call me."

Madi opened the note, glanced at it for a moment, before glancing back up to Fletcher- who pulled her in for a friendly hug. "Will you be back here next year?"

He shrugged his shoulders before shoving his hands into the pockets of his navy shorts. "It depends if we have enough money…" He paused for a moment. "I hope things work out between you and your family…"

She couldn't help but snort and gazed off into the trees momentarily before darting her eyes back to his. "You're the first person I've had a serious conversation with about this whole thing besides my sister… Thankyou."

A small smile formed on his face and he pulled her in for another hug. "Anytime." He pulled away and began to walk towards one of the vans headed for the airport, her eyes didn't leave him as he got into the van and disappeared amongst all of the other kids.

Abby and Savannah approached Madi and immediately pulled her in for a group hug minus Bailey- who was still in her cabin packing up Madi's clothes. Abby pulled out her phone from her pocket and started to take selfies with the two girls. "Dude… I hope your parents let you get a phone soon, coz its gonna be so weird not talking to you." Abby said.

"I promise the day that I turn 13, you guys will be the first contact."

"We wrote down our numbers and emails on this piece of paper. Give this one to Bailey." Savannah said as she slipped two pieces of paper into her hand.

"I will."

After saying goodbye to Savannah and Abby, Madi eventually saw her sister walk out from her cabin carrying her backpack and rolling her suitcase behind her. They made eye contact and walked towards each other, meeting underneath a large oak tree.

For a moment, there were no words between them. They just stared at each other as if they could read their minds. Madison looked away and sighed before pulling her sister in for a hug that she felt would never last long enough. "Look after mom…" She whispered.

Bailey nodded and closed her eyes, trying to savour the moment. She hated to admit it, but she was really going to miss this… The swimming races and endless amounts of soda. The campfires and pranks. The memories and not to mention her sister. "Likewise. Go easy on dad…"

"I will." Madison heard Baileys name be called out and she hesitated to pull away from the tight embrace. It wasn't until she physically felt her sister push her away that she saw a small smile plastered on her face. Madison smiled back and turned her back and got into the van travelling to Virginia, ignoring the stupid comments that Oliver Pratt was making towards her. She couldn't hear any of it though as she pulled out one of Bailey's many books and started to read.

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A/N: So the next chapter is going to focus on Madison meeting Hotch and Jack, I probably won't get her to meet the team next chapter, but I will get there eventually. I'm not too sure whether I will get that chapter uploaded before I go on holiday, I should do, but if I don't, I wish you guys a very Merry Christmas and safe travels!


	11. Odd Behaviour

A/N: Hey Guys! So... This is going to be the last chapter uploaded for this year as I will be going on holiday and I won't be taking my laptop with me. However, i will be bringing my journal with me and write the other chapters in there and type them up when I get back. I will not be returning back home until the 18th of January, so sometime after that date will be when the next chapters are going to be uploaded.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read and review and helping to encourage me to write to the best of my ability. It is greatly appreaciated. Have a safe Christmas and I will be back with new chapters next year!

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July 2023  
Virginia

Madison wasn't feeling well. Her stomach grumbled every second, but she didn't have an appetite to eat anything because she was so nervous. According to the driver, they were due to be arriving back at Bailey's school any minute. She wasn't ready for this; she wasn't ready for any of it…

The van came to a halt outside what looked to be a big building where many eager parents stood waiting. Madi tried to see over the other kids whose heads were splat in the middle of the window also looking for their parents but couldn't see her dad. Eventually, the driver came around and opened up the van, letting everyone out one by one.

She stumbled out- her heart racing and her stomach growling- and frantically searched for wherever her dad could be. Bailey did warn her that if her dad happened to have been on a case it would be Aunt Jessica who would pick her up, she hoped that it wasn't… It had gotten to the point where she just wanted to meet her dad so bad…

After a few of the parents left with their respective children, Madison finally saw a familiar face from the photos Bailey had shown her standing towards the back of the crowd. There her father stood with his arms crossed together and a small hint of a smile plastered on his face; his eyes had that mysterious element to them, and he was wearing a plain navy t-shirt and jeans.

Madison stood there for a moment in awe, just staring at him. The man that she'd dreamed of meeting for as long as she could remember was standing just a few metres away from her. Her stomach dropped and she flung Bailey's duffel bag towards the ground whilst running full speed towards him, crashing straight into his chest and nearly tumbling him over in the process.

Aaron held his breathe as his daughter gripped his waist tightly and hugged him for what seemed like forever… He smoothed his hands through her silky hair and rested his chin on the top of her head.

He'd missed her.

It was weird not having her in the house. He'd wake up every morning to silence and no bickering or chattering between Jack and his sister. There was no 'can I come to work with you' questions when he was sitting at the dining table completing field reports. And there was no little girl to tuck into bed each night. He was so glad that she was back.

"Hey princess…" Aaron whispered so only Madison could hear. "How was camp?" Madison didn't want to let go of her dad, tears were prickling at the corners of her eyes, but she refused to cry. Not in front of him and if he did see her crying, then her cover could potentially be blown.

Aaron thought that it was a little strange that the daughter he knew was being so quiet and so clingy to him, but he thought nothing much of it and assumed that she was just overtired from the trip. Madison pushed herself back and gazed up into her fathers concerned eyes, for a moment a flicker of fear coursed through her- wondering if he had noticed that she wasn't really Bailey. He really did have the ability to stare into your soul.

"Oh dad…" It felt so weird to say it in person. "Camp was just amazing…" Madi managed to stutter. Aaron nodded and raised an eyebrow. Bailey typically had much more to say when she really enjoyed something.

"Just amazing? You didn't meet any boys, did you?" He joked. Madi gulped, the thought of Fletcher crossing her mind.

"Dad… It was impossible not to talk to them. Can we get in the car? I just wanna go home." Madi said after feeling her stomach grumble violently again. Her dad nodded and went to go pick up her duffel bag while Madi went and picked up Bailey's backpack- slumping it over her back.

"Have you got rocks in here or something?" Hotch asked, throwing the bag over his shoulder.

"I collected some souvenirs…"

After getting into the car, Madi laid her head back against the headrest and took in all of her surroundings. The car was super clean apart from the odd shoe and pieces of paper floating around, and she noticed a picture of Bailey, Jack and her dad tucked away up in the sun visor.

Her dad asked her all these questions about what she did at camp, she talked about how she met Abby and Savannah as well as another girl called Violet- that's what Bailey wanted to be called if her dad happened to ask. She talked about the trip into the city where she got to see the empire state building and the statue of liberty, but deep down she was dying to ask her dad about her mom.

"Sounds like you had a great time… I really missed you ya know." Hotch said as he turned towards his daughter. Madi closed her eyes and smiled at him, oh how she wanted to say that she had missed him terribly all of these years.

"I missed you too… Dad, can I ask you a question?" Madi asked in an accent that she hoped sounded like her sister.

"Of course, princess…" She took a deep breath and went for it.

"Why have I never heard from mom?" She asked very timidly. She looked closely at her dad who showed no sign of emotion on his face, it was like he hadn't even heard the question. She now understood what Bailey meant when her dad shut down all questions about Emily. "Dad?"

Hotch was perplexed as to why Bailey would ask such a question. She generally knew not to ask him questions about Emily, but who was he to lie to her and not tell her anything? She was getting to the age where she deserved to know why her mother left, but it was just such a painful topic to talk about. "Why do you ask?" Hotch asked wanting to know more about why she asked the question.

Madi sighed internally. "I met this girl at camp who had a similar situation to me, except she'd never known who her father was… And it just got me thinking… What did I do wrong?"

"What do you mean?" Hotch asked her confused. "You think that you were the reason that your mom left?" He asked in disbelief. Madi nodded.

Hotch sucked in his bottom lip and his brow furrowed, how the hell was he going to explain to his daughter that she had nothing to do with why Emily left? How would he explain that everything surrounding the situation was just complicated?

"Please dad… Tell me." Madison begged with her dark puppy dog eyes that she knew could bribe her mother, so her father should have been just as easy. She thought she was playing the role of Bailey exceptionally well and part of her was enjoying prying her dad for information.

"It wasn't your fault Bailey…"

"Then whose was it?" She asked innocently. Hotch gripped the staring wheel tightly and launched back into a memory.

_February 2013_

"_Emily?" Hotch asked concerned. There was silence throughout the house as the twins were both in their cribs fast asleep and Jack was still at school._

_Tiptoeing silently into the bedroom, he couldn't see her. However, he heard muffled tears coming from the attached bathroom which really sent his heart aching. The door was closed tightly shut; he was pretty sure that it was locked. _

_He called out her name and leant his head against the door whilst he tried to open the door. He was right. It was locked. He wasn't entirely sure why; Emily was home all by herself most days and the twins couldn't walk yet so it wasn't like they could just barge on in. _

_Her behaviour was becoming extremely odd and most days it just seemed to be getting odder. He tried to communicate with Emily about it, but she'd just shut him down and pretend that everything was alright- when in reality, it was far from it. It was getting to the point where he just didn't know what to do, he was losing his partner and it was breaking the both of them apart._

"_Just open the door… We can talk about it…" He begged, but Emily didn't budge. _

_On the other side of the door, the woman covered her pursed mouth tightly with her hands, trying not to let any sort of sound come out of her mouth. She hadn't expected Hotch to be home this early, he wasn't due to be back home until later that night… And the last thing that she wanted him to see was her falling to pieces on the bathroom floor. _

_Hotch kept begging and begging for her to open the door and it was only a matter of time before he would get so angry that he kicked the door down with his foot, so she opened it reluctantly- wiping away the tears pooling down her cheeks and avoided his concerned gaze._

_He had that sort of gaze that could just stare right into you and hypnotise you for what seemed like years. But it was also a gaze that only a few people could really read, a gaze which held a lot of love. The kind of gaze that even after 10 years of knowing him, still sent those butterflies in her stomach fluttering around uncontrollably. _

_But Emily didn't want to talk to him. She didn't want to be touched by him or be near him at all. She craved his love, but yet desperately yearned to be on her own. So, she pushed past him and occupied herself downstairs with the large pile of washing that needed to be folded. Hotch being Hotch of course, followed her down, trying to profile her and get into her head. _

_It was hard, he knew her so well that most days they could just look at each other and he'd instantly know what she was thinking, but the last few weeks she had put up the strongest barriers that not even he could break. When he looked at her face, he didn't see Emily, he saw a broken and completely different woman to the person that he knew… And it freaked him out. He just wanted Emily to be Emily again._

"_You want to talk about it?" He asked calmly as he sat on the arm of the sofa. Emily shrugged her shoulders and continued to avoid eye contact. _

"_What is there to talk about?" She retorted blandly- causing Hotch to glance at her oddly. _

"_I think there is a lot to talk about Em… What's going on?" He asked- cutting right to the chase. Emily shook her head and forced a small smile._

"_Nothing… Everything is fine Aaron." Emily spat frustrated. She didn't want to be having this conversation right now._

_Hotch crossed his arms together and tried his hardest not to show the pain and anguish that he was currently feeling on his face. "You call crying in the bathroom for the fifth time this month fine Emily? Look… We have both seen hundreds of cases like this- "_

"_A hundred cases?" Emily spat aggressively, making eye contact with his concerned eyes. "You're not seriously comparing my mental health with a case, are you?" _

"_I didn't say that." Hotch defended. "I was going to say, I think you need to have a chat with a therapist."_

_Emily rolled her eyes and threw a piece of clothing into its respective washing pile. "No." She stated firmly. "You should know better than anyone how ineffective they are." _

_Emily was referring to the whole incident with Doyle nearly two years prior. He knew how much she hated having to talk about her feelings with people she didn't know that well, especially when she was trying to forget that the incident even happened. But it eased his mind to know that she was getting help for it, and afterwards she seemed to be doing a lot better._

"_That was trauma… This is different." Emily shook her head._

"_There's nothing wrong with me Aaron…" _

_It took a skilled profiler and a well-known partner to recognise the slightest hint of shakiness in her voice, causing Hotch's heart to be crushed. He hated seeing her like this… He didn't know what it was. Postpartum depression? Anxiety? General moodiness? Whatever it was… It was destroying her. _

"_I don't believe you. I know you well enough to know that everything is in fact the opposite with you at the moment. And as hard as it is for you to admit that, that's the truth. So why don't you do the both of us a favour at the moment and actually communicate what you are feeling?" Hotch said in a calm voice with the slightest hint of frustration._

"_What good would it do?" She said hopelessly. The sound of sharp cries sounded from the upstairs bedroom. Emily got up right away and raced up the stairs- taking any moment she could to get away from Aaron._

"Tell me dad… Please." Madi begged, not wanting her dad to shut her down any longer. She had to know. She needed to…

Hotch avoided his daughters innocent and desperate gaze, and kept his eyes fixed on the road in front of him. Her behaviour just seemed off… That was the only word that he could use to describe it. He had noticed as she had gotten out of the van, that her fingernails were being gently nibbled in her mouth. Never in his life had he seen Bailey nibble her fingers like that.

Madi kept talking and begging her dad to answer her question, starting to get tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. When he didn't answer for the 10th time, Madi gave up and threw her head back against the headrest and bit down hard on her lip. Her dad was going to be a tough cookie to break.

Hotch noticed her little tantrum this out of the corner of his eye and silently cursed himself… The truth was that he still had no idea why Emily chose to leave; he didn't even properly know what was wrong with her and he berated himself for not knowing every day.

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A/N: So obviously Hotch's gut is already onto something, being the amazing profiler that he is. The next chapter will involve Bailey meeting Emily.


	12. London

A/N: I'm Back! Hope you guys enjoy this next chapter!

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July 2023  
London

Bailey had her face plastered against the window of the plane as it began to descend down into the large city of London. The butterflies in her stomach twirled as she glanced down at all the little houses and the tiny cars perched along the sides of the streets, all belonging to someone in the city. One of those little houses down there belonged to her mother…

No words could emphasize how terrified she was… It was nearly time to meet her mother.

The mother she had dreamed of meeting since she was a little girl. The person who would cause so much pain at home. The person who she couldn't mention without being blown backwards into a dark corner, thrown into a silence that had kept getting longer and longer. The person who for some reason had torn the family apart and shattered their lives to pieces. The person who ran away and didn't want to come home…

The plane finally landed, taxied to its respective building and parked up. Bailey waited patiently as passengers rushed in a rude manner to get off the plane. She couldn't really understand why people did that, why they felt the need to get off as fast as possible. Her dad had taken her and Jack to New York when she was younger by plane and everyone seemed to push and shove each other as if the plane was going to explode.

Once she finally had a chance to get off, she made her way through security and passport control, thankfully she was identical to Madison, so the security guard didn't bat an eyelid when he held the photograph on Madison's passport up to her face. After walking to the baggage area to collect her suitcase, she made her way through to the arrivals section of the airport.

The nerves in her stomach were so over the place that she thought she was going to be sick; it was so horrible she had to stand against the wall for a moment to retain her composure. The feeling jolted away, and she held her belly tightly as she frantically searched around for any sign of her mother.

She remembered from the photos that she had snuck a peak of that she had dark hair, and very dark eyes much like her own. She also knew that she typically liked her hair to be short, but who knew, that could have all changed.

There was no sign of her.

A sinking feeling grew in her stomach, only to add to the mixture already brewing. Bailey found a seat not far from the entrance of the airport and tapped her foot lightly as she waited for any sign of her mother. Maybe she didn't recognise her with the haircut? No… That couldn't have been the case, even if Madison's hair was cut, she would still be able to recognise the face shape and outline. After all, she was a profiler.

Out of the corner of her eye, Bailey noticed a man with short, silky and dirty blond hair approaching her. He had deep blue sparkling eyes and his hands were shoved in the pocket of his long black coat. What the hell was he doing wearing a coat in the middle of summer? His gaze was fixated on her. As he got closer and closer, the anxiety level in her rose from 30 to 90. Here she was on the other side of the world, with no parents around, no knowledge of what was happening, and a strange man was getting closer and closer.

She yearned for her dad.

Bailey looked away and tried to pretend that he wasn't there, but it wasn't working. She jumped when she felt a hand touch her shoulder and saw that the creepy man was looking down upon her. "Madison? I'm sorry did I scare you?" The strange man asked.

Well… That put that fear out of the way, Madison did know this man. The question was who was he?

She shook her head. "Sorry, just a little jetlagged…"

The strange man quirked a smile and held out his hand. Bailey looked at it hesitantly.

"Your mum really wanted to be here, but she got called into an urgent meeting that she couldn't get out of. I'll take you there." Bailey nodded and grabbed the man's hand, still not knowing what his name was. She was sure Madison told her…

"Your trip good darling?"

Darling… Very British. Bailey just nodded and figured that the less she said, the more like her sister she would channel.

"You gonna tell me about it?" He egged on.

"It was a lot of fun… I met a lot of new people and don't tell mom this but…" She bounced on her tiptoes to reach the man's ear. He leant in to listen. "I had a lot of soda." She whispered.

The man had a smile emerge and frown appear at the same time. "Soda? Don't tell me that they have Americanised you already?" He said jokingly. Bailey felt a surge of panic rise and instantly realised that Madison spoke a little differently here, even though she knew their mother was American. What was the damn word for soda then?

"Yup. I guess you'll just have to put up with that." Bailey said in a quick recovery. The man snickered and felt his phone rumbling in the coat of his pocket.

"Excuse me for a moment." Saved by the phone, she thought in relief. "Clyde."

Clyde! That was the man's name. Madison did mention him. She felt like an idiot for not remembering, but then again, she did just travel across the Atlantic Ocean without sleep and a whole jumble of nerves to contend with.

Bailey followed closely behind Clyde as he chatted on the phone to the car. There was a slight breeze in the air and that was when Bailey realised that she was still wearing shorts and a T-Shirt. Wasn't London supposed to be warm during summer? Apparently not.

When they approached the car, she was about to get on the passenger side of the car, when she realised that it was actually the driver's side. A blush crept up her face and she scurried to the other side of the car trying not to look at the weird look she was sure Clyde was giving her.

He chucked the phone into his pocket once he had finished the call and started the engine. "Was that Mom?" She asked out of mere curiosity.

"A co-worker."

"Do I know them?"

"Probably." Great… That totally answered her question.

"Why is everything so secret at your work? I mean… I don't know anyone else who works there besides you and mom." Clyde pinched the sides of his cheeks with his teeth and glanced over at the girl sitting beside him. She looked different for some reason and then it hit him.

"You got a haircut?"

"You only just noticed?" She spat back with sarcasm. She fluffed the ends of her hair with her hands. "Do you think mom will like it?"

Clyde just shrugged and let out a sigh. "Your mother has been a little unpredictable the last couple weeks… But sure, I guess she'll like it."

"Unpredictable? What do you mean by 'unpredictable'?" Bailey asked a little concerned.

"I think it's just been because you have been away. She isn't used to it. She's been talking about you a lot though… We have both missed you."

Bailey nodded. "I've missed her too…" She said with that hint of sadness in her voice. "Camp was a lot of fun, but I really wanted mom there… And dad too…"

"And dad?" Clyde asked surprised.

"Yeah… All the kids there talked about their dads and all the memories that they had with them. I have no memories of mine." Bailey glanced over at Clyde who had a sombre expression on his face. She could tell that he was genuinely saddened by the situation, but he also knew something that she didn't. It was time to get into the detective work.

"You knew my dad, didn't you?" Clyde slowly nodded after a moment, obviously not wanting to enter those waters. "Why did he leave me and mom?"

He didn't speak for a few moments. "That's a question you should ask your mother."

She looked out the other window and rolled her eyes. "I ask her everyday Clyde… She doesn't talk about him. And I think that I deserve to know…"

He sighed loudly and repositioned his hands on the wheel before trying to figure out how he was going to word what he was going to say. "Something horrible was happening to your mother… And it still is happening. She had to leave."

Bailey raised her brow in surprise. "What kind of horrible?"

"I'm afraid that I can't go into the details."

She pouted. "Why not?" She spat back.

"You'll find out one day."

"What if I die tomorrow? I'll never find out then…"

"Madison… Just trust me darling, if you tell your mother what I have just told you, things will be very bad." Bailey gulped and looked out the window the rest of the way to the London office, with a deep sickening feeling brewing in her stomach. She realised that this whole situation was a lot more complicated than it seemed on the surface. But one thing she had learnt already was that something was going on with her mom. Something she was determined to get to the bottom of.

Once they arrived at the London office, Clyde escorted Bailey through all the security checks and all the corridors and through to her Mothers office- which was empty. "Must still be in the meeting. You wait here, don't touch anything."

Bailey rolled the suitcase along with her to the long black sofa facing her Mothers desk. Looking around, she noticed that the bookshelves around the room were stacked full of books about crime, murder and serial killers. She also noticed a few books to do with profiling and 'dealing with a psychopath 101'. Dad also had similar books in his office back at the FBI.

Standing up, she walked to the desk and sat down in the rolling chair. She loved these sorts of chairs, where you could just push off any sort of object and bang into all the other furniture. Her dad always went mental when she did it back in his office at the BAU, she'd often get into a lot of trouble for it, but it was always worth it for the fun.

As she glanced up, Bailey noticed a picture of Madison sitting on the far corner of the desk. She traced her hand over her sisters face- identical to her own- and then her hand fell down to the lightest of birthmarks on her lower neck. She hoped that her mother wouldn't notice that there was no birthmark on her, she really wanted to keep the charade up for as long as possible.

Apart from the books and the photograph of Madi, there wasn't really anything else interesting about the office. The paintings on the walls were abstract and didn't mean a lot and the desk happened to be covered in stacks of paper. Leaning back in the chair, Bailey spun around in circles singing to herself. It was only when she stopped that she saw someone standing at the door with a wide smile on her face.

Her mom.

The churning in her stomach tightened and simultaneously eased upon seeing the lady in the doorway. Here she was. Standing right in front of her. Her mother hadn't really changed that much from the pictures that she had seen of her. Perhaps a little more wrinkles in some places, but she looked as stunning as ever.

Emily had her hair straightened, the tips reaching down to the peaks of her shoulders. She wore a cream dress with beige 2-inch heels. Bailey sat there in the chair, speechless for words.

"Madi… You… You… Cut your hair…" Emily whispered across the room with her eyes wide. A hint of a smile crossed Bailey; she smoothed her hand through her hair as she looked at Emily.

"Do you like it?" She asked nervously. Emily tilted her head and held her arms out. Bailey didn't hesitate in leaping out of the chair and running full speed towards her mother, bowling into her and tugging onto her dress for dear life.

She never wanted to let go of her.

Emily wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter, resting her chin on the top of her head. She could smell hints of pine trees and beach water in her hair and that put a smile on her face. Just knowing that she was having fun with new people and exploring the world, when she herself couldn't even really give a weekend up to spend time with her.

"I've missed you so much mom… SO much." Bailey cried. She couldn't help but let the tears roll out and stain Emily's dress. When she felt a dampness on her upper chest, Emily pushed her daughter away from her chest and looked her in the eyes, suddenly feeling really concerned that she was bawling her eyes out.

"Honey… Here come sit down." Emily guided her to the sofa and ran over to her desk to grab a box of tissues to wipe away the tears. She sat back down next to Madi and soothed a hand over her back, trying to ease whatever pain that she was feeling. "I've missed you so much as well… It's been really lonely at home. Even Milo misses you."

"Milo?" Bailey asked trying not to sound confused.

"Don't worry, he's been okay… Been sleeping at the end of my bed each night purring away." Ah… They had a cat. That would explain why her dad kept refusing to get a cat, because it reminded him of her mother. "You want to talk about it?" Emily asked as she brought her daughter in closer to her.

She wanted to tell her mother everything. She yearned to tell her about Madi, Ping pong, going into the city, camping in the woods. But somehow, she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Everything she did, she did with her sister. How would she explain everything she did without mentioning the true Madison?

Bailey shook her head, deciding the answer. "No… I just… I really wanted you there. And dad as well…" Emily hummed and frowned slightly at the mention of 'dad'. It wasn't a frustrated frown; it was more of a hopeless frown. She wished that she could have given her daughter the freedom of having a father, but she knew that if she did, everyone would get hurt. She wasn't about to let that happen.

"Why can't I see him?" Bailey whimpered. Emily closed her eyes and rocked her daughter slightly trying to figure out how to explain in the simplest of terms why she couldn't see Hotch. "Come on mom… Don't I deserve to know?"

Emily nodded slightly to herself and tried her best not to let the tears fall. Oh, how she wished that Hotch was here, how she wished that he could be here in this moment to comfort his daughter- like he was meant to be. And she had taken that right away from him. What did that make her? A selfless bitch who didn't care about anyone else's feelings.

"Is that what this is about? Wanting to see your dad?" She asked quietly. Bailey clasped a small black pendant her mother was wearing around her neck and hummed in response.

"I really miss him mom… I mean… I don't even know him, but… I just miss him. Whoever he is…" Emily nodded against Bailey's head, feeling terrible, upset and guilty all at the same time. "Can you tell me about him?"

Closing her eyes, Emily gulped. "I wish I could honey… But… If I tell you, we could get seriously hurt."

"Who's going to hurt us?" She asked so innocently. Emily stared at her tear stained face and the dark brown eyes that were identical to her own.

"Someone very bad…"

"Nobody else is here mom… It can be our little secret…" Emily nodded but glanced away and made eye contact with the floor. She yearned on the inside to tell her daughter everything but made the decision not to.

"I can't tell you Madi… Just know that it is for your safety..." Bailey sighed and closed her eyes in despair. She was running out of options on trying to get through to her mother.

"What would happen if you did tell me?" Emily shook her head and let out a shivery breath. She knew that all these questions would come one day.

"Madison…"

"But Mom! -"

"Madison… I promise you that one day you will be able to meet your dad…" Bailey glanced up at her mother's dark eyes.

"How can you be so sure?" She barely whispered.

Emily paused for a moment. "I just know…" It wasn't a false promise… She knew that one day, this whole messy situation would be over, and their family would be reunited again. It was just… Something was in the way and it needed to go.

Emily took Bailey/Madison back home. Bailey managed to get her mother to carry the suitcase up to Madison's room since she had no idea what the layout of the house was and she did not want to blow her cover by walking into the wrong room by accident, even if it was a small house.

The kitchen, dining room and living room were all downstairs, whilst the bathroom, Emily's office and both bedrooms were situated upstairs. It seemed an easy layout to get used to.

"What do you feel like for dinner?" Emily asked as she placed the suitcase down and put her hands on her hips. Bailey contemplated the question for a moment as she threw herself on Madi's bed.

"Can we get fast food?" She asked hopeful. Emily scrunched up her nose.

"Fast food?" Bailey couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or genuinely confused. "Do you mean takeout?"

The Brits didn't use the words fast food? Maybe it was because it made people sound fat…

Bailey rolled her eyes "Mom… Give me a break. I'm jetlagged and I've just gotten back from the states."

"Okay…" Emily said as she held up a hand in defence. "Since you have been away for the last couple weeks, we could go out to get a pizza OR we could stay in and get it delivered."

Bailey smiled at the mention of 'Pizza'. "I don't feel like going out… Can we stay in?" Emily nodded and went downstairs to grab a pizza menu hanging upon the fridge. "Oh! Can you make it a pepperoni?"

Emily paused in her tracks in the hallway and scrunched her face up. Madison wasn't usually a fan of pepperoni pizzas; she usually wanted nothing on her pizzas apart from the towers of cheese.

"Strange child…" She whispered to herself.

After ordering a pepperoni for Madison and a Hawaiian pizza for herself, Emily dumped herself on the sofa and switched on the tv for something to watch. She had a pile of work to get through, but honestly it could wait until the next morning. Her eyes felt heavy and she desperately needed to relax.

Bailey walked down the stairs holding the black and white cat Milo in her arms. He was quite content just sitting in her arms and looking around, minding his own business. She went to go sit down on the sofa next to her mom who wrapped an arm around her and flicked through the channels.

"Nothing is ever good on TV." She muttered. Bailey nodded in agreement.

"Can we watch a movie?"

Her mother quirked an eyebrow. "A movie huh? Surprise, surprise…"

"What?" She asked confused.

"Madison… Every time I sit down to watch something, you always butt in wanting to watch Night at the Museum or Jumanji… Can't I just scroll through the channels and find something I want to watch?"

"But there isn't anything to watch…" She stated as if she had always been living with her mom.

Emily rolled her eyes, knowing that the eleven-year-old was right. "Okay… But I'm choosing the movie okay?"

Bailey shrugged her shoulders as Milo jumped off her lap. She cuddled into the arm of the couch as her mother chose a movie to watch from the large selection of DVDS in the cabinet. "How about... Harry Potter?"

"Yes! Oh Yes!" Bailey practically screamed. Emily was surprised at the intensity of Madison's energy considering that she was jetlagged and was usually a very quiet person.

"Okay..." Emily said knowing the answer. She popped the first movie into the disc player and cuddled with her daughter on the couch.

"Why don't we have Netflix?" Bailey asked.

"Because that requires internet, which adds to my power bill… And DVDS are much more fun in my opinion."

"DVDs scratch all the time." Emily looked down at her daughter oddly.

"Did you come back the same person? Because you just seem a little… off to me…" Bailey gulped.

"Of course, I'm the same person mom. It's not like I was born a twin… Or a triplet for that matter." Emily shuddered as her daughters words hit closer to home than ever before. Bailey felt a surge of panic rise through her as her mother burst into tears upon the mention of twin.

"MOM? What's wrong?" Bailey asked desperate.

"I just love you so much honey… Never forget that…" Emily replied quickly through her tears. Bailey nodded and hugged her mother tightly, trying to ease her obvious pain.

The pizzas arrived not too long afterwards. Bailey dug into hers, starving after hardly eating anything all day, whilst Emily took slow bites and hardly concentrated on the movie, her mind wandering across the Atlantic ocean, thinking about her long lost baby…

* * *

A/N: I want to thank you guys again for all of the wonderful reviews, they really do motivate me to write to the best of my ability. So keep at them!

I am so happy to finally be writing with Emily again and we are slowly getting closer to the truth of what happened to their family. If you guys have anything you want me to write, leave it as a suggestion in a review and i may write it as a oneshot outside of this story, or i may even incorporate it into this story. Next chapter will be uploaded within next few days...

Thanks again!


	13. Nightmare

A/N: Yes, there will be a part two to this chapter. Thanks again for taking the time to read this guys, appreciate it loads.

* * *

July 2023,  
Virginia

"Go Madison!" Yelled multiple familiar voices from the stands. She used all her might to propel herself forward through the water- feeling the lactic acid building up in her muscles by the second- but no matter how much energy she put into it, the water seemed to thicken and solidify. Eventually changing into a half wet half dry concrete consistency.

She was stuck.

Solidified in the concrete, she tried kicking, clawing into large chunks of concrete- breaking her nails off and spilling droplets of blood that seeped through the substance. She even tried to push herself up as she slowly sank into the hard material- her vision getting more diminished every moment.

Glancing up, Bailey was in the lane over, swimming calmly with her head surfacing for a breath every few seconds and only metres away from reaching the finish line. Madison watched on in horror as her sister won the race and pushed herself out of the water and into the arms of her father who was looking down upon her lane.

He whispered something in her ear and the both of them shot a glare towards Madison- who was still stranded and slowly sinking in the concrete like quicksand. Madi peered around frantically for her mother who happened to be talking to another parent in the stands, completely oblivious to her daughter's cries for help. Nobody around seemed to be listening or watching. Except Bailey and her dad. It was like she was invisible.

"Please... I'm begging you..." it was barely a whisper, but she knew that they could hear her. Her dad forced a smile and guided Bailey away from the edge of the pool, turning both their backs towards her. "NO... DAD!"

Madison abruptly opened her eyes in the pitch-black darkness of the room. It took her a moment to realise that the bed she was in wasn't her own, it was actually her sister's. She sat up in bed and rubbed her tear stained eyes, remembering that everything in her dream wasn't real- at least not yet it was. Her dad was only just down the hall and Jack was in the room next to her. She couldn't tell if the snoring was coming from Jack or coming from her dad. Probably both of them she concluded.

As she switched on the lamp beside her, she grabbed Bailey's otter teddy 'pip' and pressed it in close to her chest, trying to rid herself of the horrid memory of that dream. She knew that it would only be a matter of time before she revealed her true identity to her father and the thought of that sent pins and needles flying through her blood. But it also terrified her to the point where she just wanted to stay silent about it all.

She crept out of bed and slowly opened the door- gritting her teeth as she heard a slight creak. She then walked down to her father's bedroom and glanced through the slight opening in the door, straining her eyes to find his silhouette. He was still there, sprawled over the covers in a T-Shirt and shorts. Upon seeing him, Madi let out a shiver of relief. She knew that it was a nightmare, but it was reassuring to know that he was still alive, that he wasn't going to turn his back on her and disappear.

She tiptoed in and found a small spot at the edge of the bed and curled up into a small ball, comforted by the sounds of his harsh snores and deep breathing.

But she couldn't sleep. Her eyes were as heavy as iron, but her mind wouldn't shut off. Her nightmare was like a pop song playing over and over on a radio station. After a short time lying on the bed with her dad, she decided to get up and find something to read.

After finding a flashlight in Baileys room, Madison sneaked into the living room and found the bookshelf. From what she could see, most books seemed to be about thrillers and mysteries. She herself was very interested in those genres which she figured she had inherited from her father.

Madison found a book that caught her eye and snuck back into her sister's room to read it. By the time she had gotten halfway through, the sun was streaming through the curtains and that's when she realised that it was actually nearly 8 in the morning. She had been reading close to 3 hours. It always amazed her how fast time would fly when she read a book she enjoyed.

She could hear mumbled voices through the walls and figured that dad and Jack must have woken up. Walking into the kitchen, she found her dad cooking what looked to be poached eggs while Jack leaned against the counter behind him, talking about some topic that was way over her head. "Hey jokester..." her brother mumbled after seeing her stroll in. "No water balloons today?"

Madison scrunched her face up confused, then remembered that Bailey had told her that she always played practical jokes on Jack as much as she could. It made her flash back to the time where she and her mother had played a joke on Clyde, purposely putting salt in his coffee instead of sugar. The memory put a small smile on her face.

She would have to start playing at least some minor jokes before it got too suspicious, she wasn't really a big fan of practical jokes. It always required a lot of effort to clean up the aftermath, but if she was going to keep up this act she needed to start acting more like Bailey. Otherwise they would find out her true identity in no time. Her dad whipped his head around from the stove, putting a small smile on Madison's face. She walked over to him and gave him a hug from behind.

Jack screwed his nose up, but Madison didn't care. Hotch brushed at her hands wrapped tightly around his waist. "Hey Princess... you sleep well?"

"Yes..." Madison lied. Well... the first half of the night was good, but the morning part was rough. Tossing and turning and not to mention the nightmare that she had. It made her feel weird.

"I'm making one of your favourites... Poached eggs." Madi glanced at the eggs cooking in the pot. She didn't mind eggs, she could tolerate them, but having too much all at once made her feel nauseous. Particularly when the eggs were scrambled.

"Oh... My favourite." Madison muttered with the least amount of enthusiasm- obvious fatigue showing in her voice. Aaron furrowed his brow and shot a glance over towards the girl.

"You okay?" He asked concerned. Madison nodded and avoided his concerned eye contact.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" The furrowed brow remained, and Madison could see the gears turning in his head. Had she done something wrong? Said something? Her stomach started to churn, and she was already preparing for the worst to come. He had figured her out… For sure.

Aaron didn't know what to think, Bailey usually was bouncing off the walls once she knew that she was getting poached eggs for breakfast, but this morning, her energy just seemed… off. It was quite odd and very uncharacteristic of her. He turned to face his daughter and placed a hand on her forehead. She wasn't hot, she wasn't freezing either and her cheeks still had a lot of colour to them. So being sick wasn't the case.

"I'm not sick dad…" Madison stated a little more positively, trying to diffuse whatever mistake she had made. Aaron continued to eye up the girl, watching her very closely. Great. She thought. Now he would watch her eat the eggs like a hawk, that was going to be fantastic.

"You sure you're okay?" He asked as he turned back to continue cooking the eggs. Jack shot her just as a confused glance from the counter causing her to roll her eyes.

"I'm fine dad… Just… Getting used to everything again." Madi muttered as she left the kitchen. Aaron and Jack watched as she wandered down to her bedroom and shut the door tightly behind her.

"It's not just me is it?" Aaron asked, shooting a protective glance over to his son. Jack just shrugged.

"I didn't get woken up with any water balloons this morning…"

"Huh…" Aaron muttered under his breathe. "Maybe she is just still tired."

"I'll go talk to her…" Jack whispered. He walked down to her room and knocked gently on the door, letting himself in whether she wanted him in there or not.

Bailey lay there on the bed, having a staring contest with the wall. Jack didn't think she even realised that he had walked in. "Hey…" He whispered as he sat down on the edge of the bed. He smoothed a hand over the sheets, trying to figure out what he was going to say.

"I appreciate not being woken up with water balloons this morning. Or shaving cream for that matter." Madison mustered a small laugh and sat up to look at her brother. He was cute. She'd give him that. His dark brunette hair was slumped in all directions, he was still wearing a grey top with long black track pants and she could still see the grey circles under his eyes.

"What's on your mind?" She asked, figuring out that maybe she was being a little too quiet and negative. That's probably why both Jack and her dad got so confused, Bailey was a box of birds- always happy with a bounce in her step. Jack furrowed his brow- the same furrow she had seen in her father only moments ago.

"What's on my mind?" He repeated. "Bailey… I could ask you the same thing…"

"What do you mean?" Madison questioned.

"Obviously something is bothering you… Care to tell me?" Madison shook her head. As much as she wanted to tell her big brother about the dream that she had, she just couldn't bring herself to do it without having tears prickling at her eyes. "Did something happen at camp?"

"NO…No… Camp was amazing Jack! Its just… I… had a bad dream last night…" She whispered quietly as she made eye contact with the floor.

"What happened?"

Madi shook her head. "I'm not ready to talk about it…"

Jack nodded and bit at his lip. "Dad always says that talking about your dreams can make you feel better."

"I know but… This one was just… Too real."

"You know… You've really changed since you have come back. You're just… Different…" Madi glanced up- panic starting to rise. Her fingernails travelled to her mouth. "I've never seen you do that either." Madison literally threw her hands on her lap and opened her mouth wide. She thought her dad was the one she had to be worried about when it came to the profiling, but no. It was Jack.

"What do you want me to say? I've changed… I'm a little different. So what?" Jack crossed his arms and stared at his younger sister for what seemed like an eternity. It was true. You had to grow up at some point, and he was realising that it was getting to the stage where Bailey was starting to change and develop into an adult, which pleased him and made him upset at the same time. He remembered when she was just a little toddler, trying to get into all his Lego and toys, just so that she could be big and strong like him. She had been all he had growing up.

"Okay." He finally said. "I get it… You're… Growing up." Madison nodded and had to physically grip her pants to prevent her hands from returning to her mouth.

"Something like that." Their heads both snapped up at the call for breakfast, Madi sucked in a breath and tried not to get too worked up over the thought of eating eggs.

At the table, Madi could feel her body being burned by her father's protective and concerned glare. She didn't think he took his eyes off of her for a second, that's how concerned he was. And she knew that it would only be a matter of time before he figured out the truth. What sucked was that she was only one day in undercover, maybe she wasn't destined to be an agent like her parents after all.

"Are you going into work today dad?" Madison asked.

"It's Saturday Bailey… Of course, I'm not going into work" He replied with a little sarcasm and a hint of confusion. Madi's mouth morphed into an o shape and made eye contact with the eggs on her plate. She was so used to her mom's busy work schedule and forgot that her dad may have had a different schedule of when to work.

"Oh sorry… I forgot." Madi said with a slight blush.

"But… I think JJ and Penelope wanted to take you on a little shopping date." Madison's fork dropped on her plate.

"OMG Yes! Like today?" Aaron nodded.

"Or Tomorrow if you would prefer- "

"NO. Today it is. I'm gonna go get ready." Madison left the table, abandoning her half-eaten eggs. This was the moment she had been waiting for, to meet the members of her fathers team. Bailey hadn't been able to shut up about them at camp, particularly about the girls and Rossi.

Aaron sat there terribly confused, one eye on the half eaten eggs and the other eye on the girl sprinting down the hall. What had gotten into his daughter?

* * *

A/N: I know this chapter feels a little short and brief, but some chapters you don't really know what to write about. I wanted Madi to have a nightmare so that things around the apartment are more on edge and Hotch is definitely noticing stuff out of the norm. So... Won't be too long until he ends up finding out that Bailey isn't who she says she is.

Next Chapter we will get to meet JJ and Penelope for the first time and Madison will get to see their take on the whole Hotchniss situation. Thanks again for all the support and keep leaving those reviews!


	14. A Girls Day Out

A/N: So, my computer is being weird and will keep randomly turning off. Due to this it has taken ages to post this chapter, and not to mention I have also started back at school which has taken up a lot of my time. So apologies... Here is the next chapter.

* * *

Aaron opened the door upon hearing familiar muffled voices outside. "Hey… Come on in." The two women strolled on in with their handbags. "Can you just… Keep an eye on her today."

"Of course, Is she getting ill?" JJ asked with concern.

"No, no… I don't think its that… Her behaviour is just a little off." Both Penelope and JJ furrowed a brow.

"Bailey… Behaviour… Off? What does that mean exactly?" Penelope asked quietly leaning in closer- as if the answer would magically reveal itself. Hotch opened his mouth but shut it tight as he heard his daughter running down the hall.

"I guess you'll see for yourself." Madison stopped in her tracks when she saw the two women standing in the living room. They were just how they looked in the photos that Bailey had shown her back at camp. JJ had her long and wavy hair out with minimal makeup on. She was wearing a white tank top with bulky, loose forest green pants. And the high heels of course.

Penelope had her hair in a high bun with a fluffy pink headband securing the loose strands out of her face. She also had a white and pink polka dot dress on with a light blue cardigan. The two women stared at her for ages with a small hint of a smile on their faces. Madison approached them slowly, eyeing them up and taking their appearances in for the first time in person.

Penelope dropped her fluffy handbag and held her arms open wide for her, Madison took her time crashing into them, it was such a relief to finally be meeting some females. "Bailey!" Penelope screamed, gripping at Madi's chest so tightly she couldn't take in a breath. "Two whole weeks without seeing you… I didn't know what to do with myself." Penelope released her grip and looked the girl in the eyes. "You had a great time, didn't you?" Madison nodded. "You have to tell me all about it…"

Madison glanced over at the lady standing next to Penelope- JJ- who was giving her a wide smile. JJ reached out for her and Madi didn't waste any time in rushing over to JJ and giving her a hug. "Oh… Its so good to see you. Michael has been asking about you all week long…" Michael… Who was Michael? Oh… Michael was JJ's son. She remembered Bailey mentioning that she would always play with him when she went to their house.

"I've missed you guys too…" Madison whispered quietly- pulling away from JJ and shoving Bailey's little bag over her shoulder that she had found hanging up behind her door. "I'm so excited to go shopping… Where are we gonna go?" She asked enthusiastically. Hotch held up a hand.

"Just hold your horses for a moment…" He reached into the drawer by the door and pulled out his wallet, reaching in to get a few notes. He passed them to JJ who stuck the notes in her purse. "Your budget is sixty dollars."

Sixty Dollars! That was more money than her mother would ever give her to spend. "Do NOT let Penelope buy you anything else, your closet is already overflowing." Aaron demanded, looking his daughter in the eye. Madison nodded and gave her father a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on top her head as he rubbed her back. "Be good for them okay? I don't want to have a phone call from them saying they lost you…"

"Dad… I'm eleven. Not four… Besides, why would I run away?" Madison stated rhetorically. Aaron folded his arms together and squinted at his daughter.

"Do you remember the time when Penelope and I took you, Jack and Henry to the circus fairground when you were four?" She nodded- even though she had no idea what had happened. "Do you remember when you ran off because you saw some ducks down by the river?" She shook her head.

Although no emotion showed on his face, alarm bells rang off in Aaron's head. He had told Bailey this story hundreds of times. It was the most common story they talked about. JJ and Penelope shared a worrying glance, they too had heard the story a million times.

"You don't remember it?" Aaron asked again. Madi shook her head- unaware of the damage she was causing to her little charade.

"Dad… I'm getting older, I'm not gonna remember every single thing that's ever happened to me." Aaron- still just as confused and concerned- shot a glance over at the two women.

"Okay… All I'm asking is that you don't run away."

"I won't Dad… Don't worry."

"We'll have her back by 4." JJ stated as she opened the door. Aaron nodded and planted a kiss on Bailey's head.

* * *

"You sure you don't want to look in any other shop honey bunny? You still have about twenty dollars you can spend!" Penelope stated with 17 bags drooping off her arms.

"Penelope… Have you ever heard of saving?" JJ muttered rolling her eyes. "It's okay Bailey… You can spend as much or as little as you want."

Madison nodded and gave the twenty dollar note that she had left back to JJ. "Its fine. I'm happy with these pants and this book. I don't want anything else." JJ raised an eyebrow. Every time she had taken Bailey shopping- which was nearly every weekend since she had been old enough to be fun shopping with- She had always spent all her money in the first five minutes of arriving at the mall.

"Did they teach you how to save at that camp as well?" JJ joked. Madi shrugged her shoulders and glanced at the donut shop a little way down.

"No… I'm trying to savour it… But can I have a donut?"

"Honey… Since I missed out on two weeks of seeing your beautiful face and missed out on sharing donuts, of course you can. Chocolate frosted right?" Penelope asked. Madi's eyes widened.

"How'd you know?" Chocolate frosted donuts were her favourite, obviously they must have been Bailey's favourite too.

"We work as profilers remember?" JJ stated pointing to her head.

"Well… You work as a profiler; I work with the profilers." Penelope corrected causing both Madison and JJ to smirk and roll their eyes.

"Can we go to the donut shop now?" Madi asked a little impatiently, causing both the older women to laugh.

After buying their donuts and walking outside to the park to eat them, the girls dug into them like cats eating after a week of no food. JJ ordered a chocolate frosted donut with sprinkles while Penelope ordered a double-glazed honeycomb, vanilla frosted donut with white sprinkles on top. "I've missed this…" Madison stated feeling the warm air around her, the sun tickling the skin on her arms.

"Me too, honey… Want to come to my place and we can watch a movie?" Madi beamed so wide that her dimples appeared, and her teeth showed- along with the pieces of donut in them.

"EW…" Penelope said in disgust turning away. "You know that was cute when you were a baby, but Eww…" Madison giggled and shoved the rest of her donut in her mouth.

"What was I like as a baby?" She asked out of mere curiosity. Her mom had all her baby pictures in a photo album back in London; in hindsight she realised that she must have removed all the ones with Bailey in them. There was no evidence that she even existed.

"Hmmm…" JJ said frowning as she thought about it. "Noisy… Very much noisy…"

"Noisy as in crying noisy? Or just… Noisy."

"Oh honey… You were just plain talk." Penelope stated as she licked the frosting off her fingers.

"Very hungry… All the time… You were ALWAYS eating whenever I came to see you." JJ exaggerated.

"OH YES! I remember that! Remember on her first birthday where she got into the cake? I had made you a dinosaur cake, because you loved playing with Jack's dinosaurs. And the second that your dad helped blow out the candles for you, you grabbed a whole fistful of the cake and shoved it into your mouth!" Penelope said with a smile.

"And there was green icing everywhere!" JJ admitted.

"But nobody really cared because we were laughing so hard." Madison smiled only imagining what had gone on back then. She thought back to her own birthdays, her mom had always tried at throwing birthday parties for her and inviting all her friends, but the only family that ever showed up were her grandmother and Clyde. She couldn't remember a birthday she had where she had felt truly happy, and she would never be truly happy at a birthday unless her dad was there as well.

"Hey? Are you okay?" Penelope asked concerned when she noticed the smile on her face had disappeared.

"Was my mom there?" She asked innocently. The expressions on both JJ's face and Penelope's immediately turned sombre. "She wasn't… Was she." Madi said, answering her own question.

The ache in JJ's chest pulled at the bottom of her heart, she knelt down and lifted the girls chin with the tips of her fingers so that her eyes were level with her own. "Do you know the reason why your mom left Bailey?"

"Because she didn't like me?" Madi asked. Furrowing her brow, JJ shook her head.

"No… NO… That's… NO… Honey that's not true at all…" Penelope said horrified. "Your mom loved you more than anything in this entire world." Penelope shuddered a breath. "She didn't want to leave you at all…"

"But she had to, didn't she?" Penelope wrapped her arms around Madison and tugged her close to her body, leaning her head on top of her light brunette hair. The memories slowly flooding back to her.

"_Hey. Are you able to come to JJ's tonight?" She asked the brunette who was busy sitting at her desk clicking the pen up and down. _

"_No. I've uh… Got an appointment… And I don't want Hotch to be left at home all night with the twins on his own. It's not fair on him when he's doing most of the work." Emily answered leaning back in the swingy chair. _

"_Oh, come on… Not even just for a little teensy-weensy drink?" The brunette glared up at the blonde, clearly exhibiting the dark bags hanging under her equally dark eyes. "Emillyyyy…" _

"_Look… Penelope… Even if I wanted to… I couldn't. I'm still breastfeeding. And the girls need me." _

"_We need you too… Can't Hotch survive a few hours with two 8-month olds?" The smallest hint of a smug grin showed on her face but disappeared within a moment. _

"_You forgot about the 7-year-old." _

"_And the 7-year-old… Whatever, my point is that you haven't had a proper girls night out since after the girls were born. That was 7 months ago Emily… 7 months!" She paused. "I don't know how you haven't gone stir crazy since that night, because I certainly have!" _

"_I don't need to go. I have two perfect girls at home and two perfect boys- "_

"_Who will be able to survive for a few hours without you. Emily… I get that you are working a couple hours each day, but that's not really a 'time out'. You are coming to JJ's tonight whether you like it or not." She stormed away, with the smug grin on her face leaving the brunette rubbing her eyes in the chair in tiredness._

* * *

"_What's been up with you lately?" JJ asked passing a plate of crackers across the spa pool. Emily squinted._

"_What do you mean?" _

"_You yelled at Morgan the other day. That's not like you at all." Twisting the glass of lemonade in her hand, Emily nodded solemnly. _

"_He made a poor decision. Sending Grucci and McKnight into that Barber Shop. They nearly died." She was referring to the stakeout that the director had sent the two agents on, Morgan and Emily were responsible for profiling the targets while the other two agents were responsible for the assassination. _

"_Morgan said that you had no other choice." Penelope stated, taking a cracker and a piece of cheese from the plate. _

_Emily shook her head. "No… There were plenty of other choices that could have been made. They could have snuck in from the back, at least then Antonio and Buruga would have been taken by surprise. They knew we would be coming, but they were expecting us to enter from the front, which is what Morgan ordered Grucci and McKnight to do. Then look what happened…" She paused and took a sip of her drink. "Morgan didn't listen. So, I gave him a piece of my mind. Was I wrong not to?"_

"_Grucci and McKnight suffered shrapnel injuries, he would have been feeling pretty terrible about that." JJ answered._

"_And I didn't? Look, I felt just as bad, but I felt worse that Morgan didn't listen. It was a rookie mistake that he fully ignored. I think the question is not what's been up with me, it's what's been up with Morgan?" _

_There was a sombre silence in the pool, as JJ and Penelope processed Emily's words. "I don't know guys… Maybe I came back to work too soon." _

"_You felt ready to come back. If there's one thing I have discovered about parenthood, it was that there is no right or wrong answers when a parent decides to go back to work." _

"_I know its only a couple hours each day, but… I just feel I'm missing everything. The little sounds, the little talks they have. The way they play with each other… Bailey nearly crawled over to the toy box the other day before she fell on her face." Penelope opened her mouth in awe._

"_They are getting so big!" Penelope said almost crying. _

"_I don't want them to grow up… I love my job, but I also love being a mother. It's the best thing that's ever happened in my life." _

_JJ shoved a cracker into her mouth. "You're only working part time; I don't see why you couldn't take another break from work just to spend more time with them. I mean… Don't get me wrong, I love you to pieces and I dislike not being able to work with you, but I also know that they are only little for so long. Look how big Henry has gotten." _

"_How old is he now?" Emily asked. _

"_Nearly five." Penelope answered promptly- a devoted Godmother. Emily widened her eyes._

"_Nearly five? You're joking right?" _

"_Wish I was…" JJ said sadly. "I'd kill to have that time back when he was immobile, and I didn't have to worry about him falling down the stairs and accidently hurting himself. You're in for a treat Em with two of them." _

_The corner of Emily's mouth curved up and she giggled. "I'm just glad they're girls and not boys… Although if they are anything like me then that's gonna be a real disaster." _

"_Emily Prentiss, what on earth could you have done in your past that ended up as a disaster?" Penelope asked with the giggles hiding behind her voice. _

"_Penelope… You seriously do not want to know." Emily said shaking her head and shoving an entire cracker in her mouth. _

To this day, Penelope still had no idea what Emily had done in her childhood that was deemed 'a disaster'. In the weeks following that night she had made it her life's work to dig into her past and find whatever dirt she could on her, but it all stopped when her behaviour began spiralling out of control.

True to her word, she stopped working to spend more time with her babies and enjoy the 'littleness' for longer, but with that came something else the rest of the team wasn't expecting. Emily became nastier and nastier with each passing day. She had broken special items Penelope kept on her desk on purpose, Spencer was criticised for having a large wealth of knowledge on a daily basis. Morgan was insulted for trying to help her and JJ was completely ignored by her and pushed to the side-line.

And then there was Hotch… Who was experiencing the brunt of it all. It wasn't until he had called everyone into work on a Saturday and he walked into the bullpen pale as a ghost that Penelope realised that something terrible had happened. That girls night with JJ and Emily was the last girls night they had spent together before Emily packed up and disappeared with Madison.

"Look honey… I don't know exactly the reason why your mom left, but… she wasn't the sort of person who would just abandon her babies. The only reason I can think of why she left was because she needed to protect you." Penelope paused and waved her hand in front of her face trying to prevent the tears from falling. Even after all of these years, the anger had been buried, but the sadness of losing a great friend still kept her awake all night.

"Your mom was…" JJ struggled to find the right words. "Different. When she left. That's all I can really say about it."

Madi squinted her eyes. "She never gave an explanation as to why she left?" She asked innocently. There was a heavy silence between JJ and Penelope who just stared at each other- communicating with their eyes.

"Should I tell her?" Penelope asked looking across at JJ. Her face paled and she nodded slowly after a few moments of contemplation.

"Yes… But not here." JJ stated looking around the park cautiously. "Bailey… One other thing. You can't say anything about this to your father…"

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A/N: I feel like I'm finally getting the ball rolling on why Emily left. It was fun writing this chapter because I really wanted to show how involved JJ and Penelope have been with Bailey throughout the years. They have been the only female figures throughout Bailey's life since Emily left and it was also fun to write about how concerned they all are over her behaviour because some of the things Madi has been doing is not very typical of her sister.

I also wanted to include a little flashback from Penelope just to show how dedicated Emily was to her children and some of the feelings she was starting to go through when she left. Again, this will all be clarified in later chapters.

Thanks again for reading this story guys, please keep leaving those reviews- they really encourage me to write to the best of my ability. Next chapter will keep continuing on with Madi, then we will jump back over to London to see how things are going over there. Its been far too long without having a dose of Bailey.


	15. Penelope's Apartment

A/N: Good grief it has been a hot minute. I am so sorry that this chapter is super super late. I hadn't been feeling the 'Hotchniss Buzz' lately and when i don't feel the buzz, I lose all inspiration to write. I think quarantine and self isolation has breathed the inspiration back into me. Anyway... here is the continuation of the last chapter.

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The trip to Penelope's apartment was quiet. The latest pop songs played in the background, but nobody was really listening. Everyone was in their own thoughts, their own memories, their own world.

Madi gazed out the window, glancing at the many houses zooming by, wondering what sort of life those people lived. Did the children in those houses have both their parents? Had they travelled the world? Were there secrets in their families?

Once arriving at Penelope's apartment, Madi strolled around, glancing at the miniature icons popped up around the place; unicorns on the coffee table, piggy mugs lining the benches, a purple skull lying on the bookshelf on its side. There were even tiny troll dolls sitting atop the television, with their plastic legs only just dangling over the screen.

She remembered watching the movie 'trolls' with her mom when it first came out. She had taken her to the movie theatre, buying a full tub of popcorn and ice-creams for each of them. Mint chocolate chip for Emily and chocolate caramel for Madi. To this day, it remained one of her favourite movies, even if she had gotten a little older.

Penelope noticed Bailey gasp as she spotted the trolls. It seemed odd, those troll dolls had been there for years and she had only just seemed to notice them. "Penelope… How long have you had these for?" Madi asked excitedly. Penelope pushed her confusion to the side and placed the bottles of lemon lime and bitters onto the coffee table.

"Hmmm… A while, I guess… You seemed to only just notice them huh?" Madi showed a toothy grin and smoothed the pink troll's long hair. Madison mentally cursed herself, of course Bailey would have noticed the trolls. It wasn't like she was here every other weekend.

"You do realise I notice something new every time I walk into your apartment… I mean it's not like anything ever stays the same." Madi tried to justify. "Where's JJ?"

"In the bathroom, hey Bailey can I ask you a question?" Penelope asked settling herself down on the couch, the tall girl looked back at her, her eyes intense with wonder and mystery. It was the same look that Emily always had when a new case arrived. She would just think, and you could see the dots and crosses connecting in her head.

"Are you absolutely sure that you really want to know what happened to your mom?" As she glanced over at the girl standing by the trolls, she was noticing subtle hints that were not characteristic of Bailey. She was biting the tips of her fingernails- it was something that everyone had noticed in Emily back when she was in the BAU- but it wasn't usually something Bailey did. She was usually one for pacing around uncontrollably when she was nervous. She was also someone who would chat their head off, typically about the people at school and everyone in the BAU. She hadn't heard one comment about either of those topics, and it was starting to concern her. Hotch was right. Something was up with Bailey.

Madi nodded as the door to the bathroom suddenly opened and emerged JJ, smoothing her hands over her shirt like she was brushing off dust. She let out a breathy sigh and walked over to where the other two girls were.

"Hey… What's up with you two? Did something happen?" JJ asked when she sensed tension.

"How do we explain this situation to her JJ?" Penelope said blandly. If the tension in the room wasn't there, it was now. It was as if the room suddenly chilled and darkened. JJ sat down and motioned for Madi to come sit down on the couch too. She cuddled next to JJ- who put an arm around the back of her shoulders.

There was a heavy silence as JJ pondered. The more she thought about the past, the more memories were starting to flood in about those few dreadful weeks. It was as if the dam in her mind was starting to overflow and these memories were only the prelude to something much larger. Madi sat there, itching to bite her nails, but resisted considering that Penelope had noticed the 'odd behaviour' too. After all, they did work in the field of profiling.

"Your mom was being blackmailed."

Her mouth could have dropped wide open, but it didn't. She just sat there, her face blank as a canvas. It was like she wasn't surprised at all. Part of her knew that something terrible had to have happened to her mother for her to leave her family, but blackmail? She thought she knew her own mother quite well, but was blackmail seriously what drove her away? It had to be more complicated than someone wanting money from her.

"Bailey?" Penelope asked with large eyes- mentally cursing herself for getting into this situation. Hotch was gonna kill her if he ever found out what she had just told his daughter.

"_What have you got Garcia?" Hotch rushed into the room, standing behind the chair with his arms crossed. He had just lost his partner, lost one of his daughters, yet no emotion showed on his blank face. Penelope wanted to turn around and hug him. Hug him for Emily. Hug him for Madison. Hug him for everything that had happened. But she couldn't. _

_As she typed and typed on the keyboard, she shook her head. "Nothing that's gonna help us. I've traced every contact that she had on her phone. No phone calls to anyone. No texts. No emails. She must have used a burner." _

"_Have you tracked GP- "_

"_GPS Location? Yeah no such luck there."_

"_You read the letter? Anything stick out to you?" Penelope shook her head. _

"_No… NO… NO… Just nothing." She stopped typing and swivelled around in her chair. "Look Hotch… I don't know what you are going through right now, but I am trying my best. I wish I understood what was going through her head, I mean… This isn't like Emily… She wouldn't give into a blackmailer…"_

"_Not unless the blackmailer was threatening her family…" The air thickened around them and she struggled to catch her breathe. _

"_Why would she take Little Madi with her?" Penelope asked with tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. Hotch didn't react and just slowly shook his head- making eye contact with a pen on the table._

"_I don't know…" He whispered. "Maybe… This is what the blackmailer wanted… To ruin her life. Maybe the only thing keeping us all safe right now is being apart…" _

"Do you understand? You understand what blackmailing is right?" Penelope asked- her eyebrows high and her eyes fearful. Madison nodded slowly.

"That's why she left? Because of blackmail?" Both older women slowly nodded and made eye contact with the ground.

"Your dad… He wouldn't want us telling you this… At all." JJ said seriously. Madi heard a tiny tremble emerge from Penelope's lips. "Your mom… Left a letter explaining what was happening as best she could before she left. She couldn't tell us to our faces. It was too dangerous."

"It still is…" Penelope whispered.

There was a harsh moment of silence.

What did 'It still is' mean… Was the blackmailer still out there. Did she inadvertently put herself and her sister in danger? There were still so many questions that needed to be answered.

"Was the blackmailer ever caught?" She asked, wanting more information.

"JJ… We can't tell her anymore…"

Madi's expression turned from a sombre canvas to a deep scowl. "WHY? You've already told me up to this point… I deserve to know, don't I?" She stood up abruptly startling both Penelope and JJ who had hardly ever seen the girl angry. Angry wasn't the right word. This was frustration. All she wanted was answers. JJ could understand that.

It was at that point when Penelope's eyes widened, and her hands clasped over mouth. She held onto her breath as she glanced at the girl standing in front of her.

JJ heard Penelope gasp and whipped her head to look at the woman, only to turn her gaze to where Penelope was staring at. At first, she couldn't see it, but as she looked closer, she noticed the lightest mark on her lower neck.

It was a light mark that Bailey never had…

Madison- who had noticed the sudden mood change in both older women- furrowed her brow in profound confusion. Why were they staring at her like a volcano had just erupted?

"Penelope? JJ? Did I do something wrong?" Penelope shook her head and let a single tear roll down her cheek. She couldn't remove her eyes from this girl that she hadn't seen since she was a baby… It couldn't be her… There was just no way.

"You've done nothing wrong Madison…" JJ said so calmly. Madi gasped upon hearing her actual name and smoothed her hand on the birthmark on her lower neck.

Her cover was blown.

"Oh, my goodness…" Penelope spoke tearfully. "Madison? Is it really you?" She nodded slowly. Penelope stood up fragile and gave her a tight hug whilst JJ continued sitting on the couch just staring at the girl in awe, wondering how all of it had come to be.

She looked exactly like Bailey. The sharp cheekbones, dark eyes. The curvy Hotchner eyebrows and the light brunette hair. She had fooled everyone.

"Madi… Madison, oh my goodness… I have missed you soooo much!" Penelope cried into her shoulder.

For the first time since she had arrived in Virginia, Madison felt a huge sense of relief. They loved her… They truly did. Even though they didn't properly know her. This was Bailey's life. Her upbringing. The people who had always been there for her for her whole life. Bailey had so many people who had cared for her. All Madi had back in London was Clyde and her grandmother.

After another five minutes of hugging, Penelope hesitantly pulled herself away from Madi. It was as if she let go of her that she would vaporise into thin air.

JJ stood up and gave Madison another large hug. It was so surreal, she had so many questions to ask her. How was Emily? What life was like? How she met Bailey?

"It is so… So… So… Good for you to be here." Madison nodded and sat down on the couch in between the two women.

"I didn't think my charade would last long…" Her natural accent shone through- adding in that extra twang of British in. Penelope couldn't tear her eyes away from the girl, she was so beautiful, so elegant. Emily had raised her well.

"I just want to say… I love you so much…" Penelope cried, burying her face into the girl. Madison patted her back gently.

"Let me get this straight… You and Bailey met at the swim camp?" JJ asked to which the brunette nodded. "Wow… You both must have been so confused."

"It didn't take long to put the pieces together. It was Bailey's idea to switch places." Penelope's eyes widened even larger than they already were.

"You mean to say that Bailey is with your mom? With… Emily?" She nodded.

"My mom and I have lived in London for as long as I can remember…" There was a gasp.

"She lives in London?" JJ asked in disbelief.

"We never knew where she moved to… We had our suspicions that it was Europe, but we didn't know exactly where… London makes a lot of sense." Madison nodded.

"How do I tell dad all of this?" Madison asked with a large sigh in her voice. There was a silence.

Madison knew full well that he was already suspicious of her behaviour, but she didn't know how he would react when he found out. That was what was bothering her for the past few days, and it was only a matter of time before he figured it out like the great profiler he was.

"When you are ready, I guess…" JJ stated, breaking the silence. Penelope was still stunned. She had no words to describe how she was feeling. Happy, ecstatic, anxious, numb and unstable all at the same time.

"Will he be mad?" JJ immediately shook her head.

The one thing that had pained her through all the years was seeing Hotch so miserable all the time. Birthday parties, Christmases, even trips to the beach caused him great pain. He hid his emotions so well you would have thought he had the perfect life. It took a good friend and a skilled profiler to notice the littlest nuances in his behaviour.

"Absolutely not… He won't be mad at all… He'll…" JJ struggled for words. Madison looked up at her with her dark eyes; a mixture of fear and curiosity. "He will be so happy Madison… So happy…"

That was all Madison really needed to hear to ease her nerves. The rest of the afternoon was spent with lots of tears, lots of conversations, lots of tips to try and stay in character as 'Bailey' and most importantly lots of catching up.

They hadn't even got to watching a movie by the time that Madison needed to be back home. Her mind wandered to her sister. She wondered if she had been figured out yet…

* * *

A/N: I know this chapter is a little on the short side. Let me know what you think. Hopefully the next chapter won't take another two months!


	16. Going Home

A/N: From now on each new chapter I will upload every Friday. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

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Bailey was bored. She had read through most of the books that Madi had owned within two days. They were mostly about cartoons and children's tales, but what she craved was a more sophisticated story that required reading between the lines.

"Hey, mom… Can we go shopping?" Bailey asked, walking into her mother's study. Emily glanced behind her.

"Since when have you ever wanted to go to the shops' Madison? You hardly ever buy anything."

"But mom… I really want this book that I saw as I was walking through the airport. It's called 'Beautiful Disaster'…" Bailey said, drawing out the words as if she was in a play.

"Sounds tragic…" Emily muttered before turning back to her laptop and continuing to type. Bailey stood there for a moment, furrowing her brow. What did Madi do here daily? Her mom seemed to be continually working for what seemed like all day every day.

"Please, mom…" She begged as she fell to her knees and gripped the sides of her desk. "It looks like such an interesting story."

"Madison… Can't you see that I am a little busy now? Give me another 5 minutes to finish this report."

Bailey sucked in her bottom lip and left the study to go downstairs and raid the fridge for some food. She was glad that it wasn't just her dad that forgot to go to the grocery store; her mom hardly had anything to snack on either. She grabbed a green apple and munched into it, before travelling back upstairs to her mother's study.

Emily rubbed her eyes as she heard chewing behind her, it was one of her pet peeves, hearing people eat- especially with their mouth open. "Madi, close your mouth, even the neighbours can hear it."

"Are you done yet?" She asked between bites. Emily sighed, swivelled around in her chair and crossed her arms together. Her daughter wasn't leaving her alone today, and it was hard completing a field report enough as it was let alone having a child interrupting you every 5 seconds. She raised one eyebrow and squinted her eye.

"Nope." She replied, obviously irritated. Emily cocked her head to the side. "So, you _do_ like Green apples?"

Bailey nodded, but then realised that she meant to be acting as Madi. It was harder to stay in character than she thought. "They actually taste delicious…" A small smirk bulged from Emily, and she rolled her eyes. "So, can we go shopping, mom?"

"Granny was going to take you shopping tomorrow, remember?"

"I don't want to go shopping with Granny… I wanna go shopping with you." Bailey said stubbornly.

Emily leaned back in her chair and looked her daughter up and down. Something had changed about her, but she just couldn't seem to figure it out. The one thing that was sticking out was that she had way more energy. At least more than before camp. She also couldn't stop talking about everything, there could be an ant on the ground, and she would talk to the ant.

"So… Are we gonna go?"

Her mother shook her head slowly and motioned for her to come closer. Bailey followed and watched as Emily shut her laptop down and took a sip of her coffee. "There is someone that I would like you to meet."

"Is it one of your co-workers?"

"Well… Sort of. He's a cop. His name is Anthony, and he's coming over soon to have a coffee." Alarm bells rang in Bailey's head.

"You have a boyfriend now?" Emily snorted and shook her head.

"No… No. Never again. You know how hard it has been for me to… Connect with new people over the years. I'm trying to make friends Madi." Bailey nodded and perched herself up on her mothers' desk so that she was looking down upon her. "And… Anthony seems nice."

"Why don't you have many friends?" The question struck Emily out of the blue. She hadn't thought about it over the years. She used to have many friends, but of course, moving away so suddenly meant that she had lost them.

"I guess I don't trust easily…" Emily concluded as she twirled her cup of coffee around in her hand.

"Did you trust my dad?" She heard her mother let out a breathy sigh.

"What is it with you and all these 'dad' questions Madison?" Bailey shrugged her shoulders and pursed her lips.

"I'm just curious…" Emily nodded after a moment of contemplation.

"I would be too…"

Bailey mustered a smile and chucked the apple core into the bin beside the desk. She didn't want this moment to end; she was enjoying it. Just being able to sit near her mom and ask her whatever questions she wanted to ask made her feel happy.

"Is it the reason that you broke up? Because you didn't trust him?" Emily closed her eyes tightly, trying to push away every memory that had ruined her relationship. Eventually, she shook her head.

"I trusted him with my life." Her voice was sad.

"I do too…" Bailey said without thinking. Emily gazed at her daughter oddly, blinking. She then gasped and her eyebrows raised. Fear surged through Bailey's entire body as the realisation hit. She knew that it was too late to take it back.

Emily's hands trembled as she put the mug of coffee on her desk. Her eyes were watery, breath shaky. It was like someone had pulled on her diaphragm and let all the air out of her lungs. This couldn't be. No. There couldn't have been any possible way. "Bailey?" She barely whispered.

Bailey closed her eyes tightly and nodded. Emily's lips pursed tightly together as she pulled in her long-lost daughter close to her body. It explained everything. The way that she would just eat anything- unlike her sister, who had to examine every little thing before eating it. The reason why she had been talking so much. Why she was so emotional when she arrived back home, this wasn't Madi. This was her other baby.

Emily let the dam burst as she buried her face into her daughter's hair. She couldn't stop. Memories of that dreadful day swamped her. They were memories that she had thought about every day for the last 11 years. But out of all those memories, this one was the most vivid. It was the one memory that gave her nightmares regularly.

_March 2013,_

_Leave the country.  
Take one of your daughters.  
You know what will happen if you don't._

_She scrunched the note up and threw it across the room in anger. Her heart raced. Her breathing was fast. Tears prickled at the corners of her eyes. "I can't do this…" She said to herself. "I can't…" _

_Scrambling across the living room through to the kitchen, she fumbled through her handbag for the burner phone that she had bought a few weeks prior. She dialled the one number she knew that would answer and waited._

_Ring… Ring… Ring…_

"_Come on Clyde… Pick up!" Emily spat into the air impatiently. After another few seconds, Emily was about to hang up when a familiar voice answered._

_"Hello, Darling."_

_"What took you so long?" Emily said through gritted teeth. "I need you to get me out of here. Get me out of the country. I don't care where. Anywhere but here."_

_"Everything okay, darling?" Emily rubbed her forehead and sighed._

"_I'll explain it on the plane. Just… Get a flight out of here and don't tell anyone." Emily hung up and chucked the burner cell back into her handbag. _

_As the twins happily played with their toys on the floor, Emily rushed upstairs to the bedroom and grabbed a suitcase, shoving in all pieces of clothing that she could find. She placed a file with all the letters she had received carefully inside one of the pockets. She zipped it shut and then used the other suitcase to pack baby supplies in._

_Tears fell from her eyes as she pondered which one… Bailey? Madison? She plopped herself down on the floor, staring at the pictures of mickey mouse and other Disney characters glued up on the wall above their cribs. "What have I done?" _

_After making sure that she had enough clothes, diapers, blankets and toys for the flight, Clyde arrived in the rental car. Emily shoved the suitcases in the trunk before grabbing the girls and putting each one into their car seats. Once everything was loaded, she spent a few minutes writing a letter to Hotch to explain as best she could what had happened- trying to cryptically add clues to prevent any more danger to her family._

_She locked up the house for the last time and got into the passenger seat of the car. _

_"Drive to JJ's… Pull up a small way down the road." Clyde did as he was told and drove a few miles across to JJ's place, pulling up a few houses down._

_Emily got out the car grabbed one of the twins in the car seat and walked down to JJ's house. As she walked up the steps, she took in a deep breath, knowing that it would be a while before she saw her baby again. JJ answered the door._

"_Emily?" _

_"I'm sorry JJ that this is so out of the blue… Madison has had… Something weird has happened to her… I need to take her to the hospital to get her checked out. Can you look after Bailey until Hotch finishes work?"_

_JJ- surprised- took the sleeping baby in the car seat out of Emily's hands. "Of course, … I'll take care of her." Emily handed her the baby bag off her shoulder. She hated having to lie._

"_Um… There's some milk powder in there if she gets hungry, there are diapers, there's clothes- "_

"_Emily… I've got this. Go look after Madi." She could feel the tears burning at her eyes as she glanced down at Bailey, sleeping so peacefully. She leaned down into the car seat, smoothing her hand over her soft brunette curls and placed a long kiss to her forehead. Before turning around and letting the flood break free._

Bailey gripped her mother's shoulders and rested her head in the cranny of her neck. She smelt of vanilla perfume. "It's okay mama…" Bailey whispered. She had always wanted to call her mama. Now she finally could.

Emily placed a long kiss to the top of her forehead and gently smoothed her hands over the curves of her face. She had no words. None whatsoever. She then glanced down at her neck where Madison's birthmark was. There wasn't one there. Emily closed her eyes, and a smile appeared on her face. A delighted one. She had been waiting for this moment… She just hadn't expected it to have come so soon.

She pulled her baby close to her chest and cradled her for the next fifteen minutes. Both of them were not moving, not talking. It was only the two of them together. Bailey was listening to her mother's fast heartbeat, and Emily being comforted by the warmth of her child.

"I'm so sorry my sweetheart… I'm so sorry…" She said, terribly sad. "I am so sorry for all the pain that I have caused you…" Bailey sat up.

"It's okay…" Emily furrowed her brow and shook her head.

"No… It's not." She corrected as she wiped away the mountains of droplets on her cheeks. "I love you…I hope you know that." Bailey nodded. "I have always loved you… Not a day has gone by where I haven't thought about you. Thought about how different life could have been. Thought about how happy we would all be." She paused for a moment. "That's why you were asking so many questions… You wanted to know what happened."

"Nobody told me much back in the states."

Emily smoothed circles on Bailey's back. "Listen to me… I know that you have a lot of questions. And I will answer them as honestly as I can, but…" She paused and looked out the window; the light reflected off her watery eyes.

"But what mom?"

"I can't tell you everything…" She said seriously. Bailey frowned.

"Is there a bad guy wanting to hurt us?" Emily's expression turned sombre for a moment before she nodded.

"You can catch him, right? He can't outsmart you."

"Oh, sweetheart… He has kept outsmarting me for the last 11 years. I would have come back to you if I had found him sooner, but it wasn't worth endangering ourselves." She explained as best she could. Bailey shifted her weight on Emily's lap. The cogs in her head were visibly turning from the expression on her face.

"So, he's a really bad guy…" Emily nodded. "You'll need a lot of swat men to take him down." Her mother beamed through her tears. Hotch had talked to her about the protocols at the FBI.

"Yeah, we will… So, you and your sister swapped lives?"

"Uh-huh, we met at the swimming camp in New York."

Emily raised her brows in surprise. What a coincidence. Bailey paused for a moment while she gulped. "I guess this means that you have to swap us back now…"

Emily's stomach dropped. Even though she knew that it was probably safer to switch the girls around, she couldn't bear the thought of saying goodbye to her baby again. She couldn't bear the thought of enduring pain for another 11 years.

"No." She replied simply. "I wouldn't do that to you."

Bailey breathed a sigh of relief. "But I do need to talk with your dad about what we are going to do next."

The thought of seeing him after all these years created a pit in the bottom of her stomach. She wasn't ready. She knew that the moment he saw her that it would be all about catching the person who had ruined their lives. Hotch wouldn't stand for it anymore once he knew the full story.

"Dad will help you catch him… He is a great agent." Emily smiled as she threaded her fingers through Bailey's hair.

"He is pretty good, isn't he?"

"And JJ, Spencer, Penelope and Uncle Dave."

"What about Derek?" Emily asked when she hadn't heard his name.

"He left… But we still talk to him. He has a baby named Hank." Emily's heart melted at the thought of Morgan being a father. He deserved it.

She hadn't realised how much she had missed out on until now…

* * *

Clyde had rushed over as fast as he could when Emily had mentioned what had happened over the phone. Things were going to get complicated quickly.

Bailey had gone to sleep while Emily sat down in her living room, looking for flights back to the states. She got up to let Clyde in when he knocked on the door. She noted his flustered expression as he walked in.

"I can't believe it… You okay, darling?" Emily nodded as she closed the door. Clyde followed her into the kitchen where she pulled out two glasses and took out bourbon from the top shelf.

"This is a bad idea Em… You know what is going to happen when you get back, don't you?" The sound of the bourbon hitting the glass filled the silence.

"What other choice do I have?" The tiredness in her voice shone through whilst Clyde let out a concerned breath. "Its unfair to keep them apart any longer…"

"You knew that it was going to happen one day." Emily passed him a glass.

She scoffed. "Wasn't expecting today."

"What are you worried about Em?" Even after all these years, Clyde still became uncomfortable when Emily gave him a dark glare.

"What do _you_ think, Clyde?" She grimaced as she took a swig of the bourbon. "I am worried about my kids. I'm worried about getting another letter from 'it'. I'm worried about what everyone is going to think. I'm concerned about everything!" She snapped as quietly as possible not to wake the sleeping child upstairs.

He shouldn't have asked that question. "He's going to be furious at me for what I have done."

"Aaron?" Emily nodded. "He may be furious, but he'll understand why you did it." Clyde tried to reason with her. Emily shook her head.

"If he'd done it to me, I'd be furious as well." She took another swig. "He doesn't deserve this Clyde. He doesn't deserve any of it… I ruined his life."

"'It' ruined his life. Not you."

"Yeah well… I gave into 'it' didn't I?" There was silence.

"Why don't you just take one of the jets over?" He suggested seeing as though there was no other option. "You don't have to fly commercially. You will be safer on the jet."

"The jets are used to save people's lives…"

"You are saving your family's lives, aren't you?"

He was right. They were going to be safer on the jet. She took the last swig of bourbon in her glass and placed it gently on the bench before walking upstairs and pulling out the suitcases from her closet. Clyde tiptoed behind her.

"You sure you don't want me to come?" He asked. Emily shook her head.

"No. I'll be fine. Anyway, you need to stay here and make sure that everything is in order at work." He watched as she climbed under her bed and pulled out a box. She dumped the box into the suitcase along with some sets of clothes and other little trinkets that she wanted to take with her. "Take the cat with you and make sure that you take some of his food as well before you leave. I don't know how long I'll be gone."

Clyde nodded. "You'll keep in touch?"

"Yeah…"

"Stay safe, Em." She nodded and watched as he walked out of her room.

Once her suitcase was packed, Emily tiptoed into Madi's room where she emptied the contents of her drawers and other little keepsakes she liked into the bag. She lightly nudged Bailey, who was fast asleep. She sat up groggily with tired eyes. "Mom… What's going on?"

"I know you are tired, but you can sleep on the plane." She rubbed her eyes.

"Plane? What? Now?" Emily nodded and smoothed her hands over Bailey's back.

"Yes, honey… We are going home."

* * *

A/N: Wow... What a chapter. Let me know what you guys think, and once again thank you for all your lovely support and encouragement! It means a lot to me. Catch you all next week!


	17. Father and Daughter

A/n: Thanks for all your lovely reviews! This chapter takes place after Madi's trip with JJ and Penelope. Enjoy!

* * *

The tips of his fingers were numb as he tapped on the table. His vision was blurring into one blob as he tried to keep his focus on the screen. All that spat out at him were the same words. The same dates. The same information he had seen for the last decade. His mind was jumbled. His stomach growled and to make matters worse, he had drunk all the coffee in his cup. To say that he couldn't concentrate would be an understatement.

Not bothering to fight the boredom, he shut down the case, closed the laptop and placed it back into his work bag; it could wait until another day.

JJ had called to say that they were on their way back with Bailey. His mind wandered off as he thought about his daughter's uncharacteristic behaviour over the last 24 hours. The slightest face screw up at the mention of eggs, no pranks on Jack, her quiet nature. The nibbling of her fingertips and nails. The questions about Emily…

Bailey just didn't do that. He knew that she was growing up. And inevitably, certain aspects of her behaviour would change-Jack had gone through a similar stage too-but the behaviour didn't pull a 180 within two weeks.

It was like she had gone and returned as a different person.

A wave of nausea sped through him as the realisation hit. That was precisely what'd happened. This girl was too different to be Bailey. She didn't know the little nuances that Bailey had. The way she would pace around when she was anxious, unintentionally stomping her feet on the floor. How giggles would come from her room while reading a story. How she would cuddle with him in bed every morning before he got up.

His hands massaged the back of his neck while his palms started to sweat profusely. He struggled for his breath as it got heavier. His mind was spiralling. Confusion, disbelief, happiness, anger… How was it even possible?

Madison. His little Madi.

His head pounded as he rested on the table and closed his eyes tightly, he didn't know what to do with himself. His eyes threatened to water, and his mouth was begging to tremble, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Up until now, he had seen that girl as Bailey. He needed to see her as Madison.

Silence filled the apartment, apart from the gentle hum of the air conditioning and the ticking of his watch. It never occurred to him how quiet it could be when both his kids were out, it made him realise why he had chosen to have children. They bought innocent light into the house, laughter, happiness. He'd rather live like that any day over living in silence.

He didn't know how long he had spent laying there when muffled voices approached the door.

He gulped, took in a sharp breath and opened the door for his daughter. He didn't even bother to look through the peephole. There she stood with a closed smile on her face, her dark eyes identical to her sister's making contact with his watery ones.

She was just like Bailey in terms of physical appearance. The same almond-shaped eyes, her mother's perfect nose, thin pursed lips like his own. She already had him wrapped around her little finger.

The minute the door opened, and she saw his face, JJ knew that something was up. "Hotch? Everything okay?"

He had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep his composure, but even that didn't work. A single tear slid down his cheek as he observed his little girl up and down. He glanced at the lightest of marks on her lower neck, something he hadn't noticed prior. He fell to his knees, reached up and traced the outline of her face.

Madison gulped in understanding.

He knew.

As the wrinkles on his forehead creased and his hands gripped the sides of her face gently, Madison wiped the tear rolling down his cheek with her index finger. The dimples in her cheeks shone as her smile turned into a large beam. Aaron gently pulled her closer to him and enveloped her in a tight hug, locking her in his arms so she couldn't escape.

Penelope and JJ stood there in silence, watching the whole scene unfold. The 100th round of tears swept over them again.

Madison tugged at her father's dark shirt as he buried his face into the crook of her neck. She could feel him grasping for his breathe as every emotion he had ever felt overwhelmed him.

It was heart-breaking.

Here was the man that she had been dreaming of meeting her entire life, kneeling on the floor with her in his embrace, crying his eyes out. She hadn't known how incredibly sensitive he was. Bailey and Clyde had described him as this strong warrior. He went out into the unknown and saved people, ultimately poker-faced. It crushed her heart as he completely fell apart in front of her.

He was more than just a hero. He was human.

His knees were killing him, being stuck in the same position on a wooden floor for over 20 minutes, but he didn't care. It was all worth it being able to hug his daughter- truly hug her- for the first time in 10 years.

"It's really you…" He whispered in disbelief. "I didn't think I'd ever find you…"

Madison bit the bottom of her lip trying to hold back her own tears. "How did I not notice who you really were?" His cheeks were rosy and stained wet. He placed a long kiss on her left cheek.

"We'll leave you two alone…" JJ interrupted as she patted her hand on Hotch's back and gave Madison a peck on her other cheek. Penelope did the same.

"JJ…" He called as she began to turn away. She glanced back, gazing into his blood-shot eyes. Her heartstrings were pulling. The one thing she hated was seeing her good friends in pain. "Thank you…" He barely whispered the last part. She nodded, giving a sad smile.

He stood up- ignoring the aching pain in his knees- and shut the door, before glancing back down at his beautiful daughter. A piece of his heart had shattered and been filled simultaneously. It comforted him knowing that after all these years, she had been alive, she was safe. Her mother had protected her.

"Madison… My Sweetheart…"

"Dad…"

Aaron painfully stumbled to the couch with knobbly knees, sitting down and resting his head against the headrest. Madison followed suit, placing Bailey's shoulder bag and the items she had bought down by the door, before sitting down next to her dad and resting her head on his chest. He draped an arm over her lean shoulders.

He had so many questions for her, but none of them was able to come out of his mouth. He was in shock. "I'm sorry I lied to you dad…"

Her dark eyes were filled with sorrow as she glanced up at him. Aaron closed his eyes and shook his head. "You don't have to apologise for anything my sweetheart…" He smoothed his hand over her shoulders- comforting Madison.

It was a huge sense of relief to know that he wasn't mad at her. It was the last thing that she wanted to happen. Her heart couldn't cope enough as it was seeing him fall to pieces, seeing him angry would have broken her even more.

"You were planning on telling me… Weren't you?" She sensed no anger in his voice, but almost a playful tone. She smiled and let out a breathy sigh.

"Maybe…" She replied in the same tone. He couldn't help but smile, she was for sure his daughter. "I didn't want you to be mad…"

He hummed and shook his head. "No, Madi… I could never be mad at you…" He whispered, placing a small kiss to the top of her brunette hair. It was the truth; he couldn't bring himself to be mad for anything that she had done. She was scared. She had every right to be.

"Can you tell me about what happened between you and mom now?" She asked a little more hopeful. His protective grip around her shoulder intensified, and he shrugged his shoulders.

"I wish I could tell you… But the truth is, I still don't really know." He answered, honestly. Madison fumbled with her hands.

"I know that she still thinks about you… But, she's always sad, even when she says she's not."

It was the first time he had talked to anyone about Emily in months. To hear from his daughter that she still thought about him brought a sense of comfort, and yet another pang of anger at the same time. He thought about her every day, and his feelings about the whole situation were always changing. But he knew that one thing hadn't changed deep down.

He still had feelings for her.

"Your mom went through a lot before she left…"

"Like what?"

He shook his head out of embarrassment and shame. "I wasn't there for her enough… I wasn't there when she needed me the most. Whatever she was suffering from, she suffered alone." He took a heavy breath. "Some days, I think part of the reason why she left was because of those mistakes."

There was massive regret in his voice, and Madison realised how complicated the situation between her parents was. Not only were there problems with blackmail, but they had issues with their relationship just to put the cherry on top of the cake.

"Whatever happened, I don't believe that she left because of you." Hotch planted a kiss on the tip of her hairline. "JJ and Penelope told me she was being blackmailed."

"What else did they tell you about?"

She shrugged. "They said they couldn't tell me much. Just that mom left because someone wanted to hurt her…" He nodded. "Why haven't you been able to catch him?"

He sighed hopelessly, staring at the floor. It was a difficult question to answer because there were so many reasons why. The main one being that it was personal. It's hard to profile someone who you know and love to the ends of the earth and think of them as a victim. It's hard to know what they went through and pretend that nothing has changed.

The corners of his mouth fumbled, not knowing what to say. "Because he's sneaky. And manipulative…"

"A psychopath?" Aaron couldn't help but smile and nodded. She had a vast knowledge of crime and behaviour, just like Bailey did.

"We'll catch him one day Madi… I promise you we will." It was a promise he was never going to break.

He sensed the sadness in her eyes. "I hope so…" She wanted her family back together as much as he did. It saddened him to think that someone they didn't know had torn apart their family. Just like Doyle had. Just like the reaper had. Why were there such big targets on their heads?

He couldn't sleep that night; his eyes were glued to the little girl sleeping peacefully next to him. She snuggled into Bailey's otter toy, while her knees curled up against her lower tummy. Even in sleep, she was so different from her sister. Bailey would sprawl out like the star of David, there had been times where she had literally kicked him out of bed. He wasn't too sure who she'd inherited that trait from, he was willing to blame Emily for it.

Glancing at the outline of his daughter's face illuminated by the moonlight streaming through the cracks in the blinds, a sense of dread filled his stomach as he thought about seeing Emily again. He knew that once she figured out that Madi was Bailey, she would be forced to come back to the states. They would be forced to talk to each other. Forced to end this torture once and for all.

It's not that he didn't want to see her again, he did. But he was afraid of hurting her, hurting her like he did a decade ago. He may have been a changed man since those days, but the fear lingered. The more that he thought about her, the more memories that he'd jailed away began to return to him.

He thought about the time when they had dinner at Rossi's place shortly after Emily returned to the BAU- after her agonising fight with Doyle. He remembered how she managed to skull back at least 2 large bottles of wine along with JJ and Penelope. That was something he had found so fascinating about her, she could skull back anything she'd wanted. It was a long night after that, arguing with her to get in his car and not drive home drunk and waiting for her to fall asleep as soon as the alcohol buzz wore off.

He remembered the time they took Jack and the twins to the park, Jack kept sliding down the long, blue slide while Emily pushed the twins in the little baby swings. They had the tiniest toothless smiles back then. Memories of how gentle she would be with all his children flooded his head. Bathing Jack at night, soothing him when he had nightmares- back then he'd rather snuggle into Emily than himself.

It was hard to admit it to himself…He missed those memories. He missed her…

* * *

Madison rubbed her eyes tiredly as she familiarised herself with her surroundings. Then she remembered that she had spent the night in her father's bedroom. She looked over and saw that he was sound asleep, gently snoring with his mouth slightly open.

A dimpled smile appeared on her face as she lay her ear on his chest, hearing his heartbeat slowly thumping. She was thrilled that she didn't have to pretend to be someone else, she could just be herself. It was a freeing feeling. All she had left to reveal her identity to now was Jack, Uncle Dave, Spencer and Derek.

She felt her father move and an arm wrapped around the back of her shoulders. "You're awake…" He muttered tiredly as he glanced down at his daughter cuddled into him.

His eyes felt like sandpaper, only being able to fall asleep as soon as the sun started to rise, but it was all worth it to watch his daughter sleep in peace. He had done the same thing with Jack and Bailey growing up, it gave him a sense of comfort and security. Knowing that they were being watched over and protected.

"Can we make some French Toast?" She asked as she plumped her forearms on his chest. He smiled, remembering that it was one of Emily's favourite things to eat in the morning. He hadn't made it for years though. It brought back too many painful memories, but it was something he'd make if it meant bonding with his daughter.

"You'll have to reteach me." Madison smiled and got up right away, heading into the kitchen to get all the ingredients ready.

After having breakfast and cleaning the dishes away, Aaron got changed into his suit for work. It was a Sunday, and he didn't particularly feel like going in, but Madi had begged him to take her to the BAU so she could see where he worked. It's not like they had anything better to do either, and there was always extra paperwork that needed to be caught up.

"You ready Mads?" Mads… She liked the nickname. It was better than her mother calling her Madi booboo when she was a kid.

That was an embarrassing nickname.

The BAU wasn't how she'd pictured it. She imagined that there would be small offices everywhere, like how it was at Interpol. The BAU was much more open. Her mouth dropped open in awe as she glanced around the bullpen, taking in every piece of furniture, every person. She got the sense that it was relatively empty for a Sunday afternoon.

She followed Aaron to his office, where he dumped his laptop bag next to his desk and turned on the computers behind him. There was a picture of Jack and Bailey on his bookshelf- looked to be taken when they were little- cuddling together. "Are Uncle Dave and Spencer gonna come?" Madi asked with her eyebrows raised.

Aaron laughed to himself and took out a box, he opened it revealing coloured pencils and felt tips. "Sweetheart, they don't like to come in on Sundays, but maybe… I could make a phone call to them; I'm just going to head down to JJ's office to get some documents. You stay here, and I'll be back in just a minute."

Madison nodded, grabbed a piece of paper from her father's desk and began to draw some turtles. She'd always loved turtles growing up. She remembered going to the zoo back in England with her mother and standing at the turtle exhibit for ages, just watching them slowly crawl along with the dirt and into the water.

Just as Aaron was about to leave his office, he froze dead in his tracks, with his feet melding into the floor. She stood by the entrance to the bullpen with Bailey trying to drag her in. They made eye contact with each other, and he saw the pain and torture evident in her eyes.

* * *

A/N: I guess with this chapter I was focusing a lot on Hotch's feelings about the whole situation, and it was super fun to write. I know that there have been a lot of tears from every character in the last few chapters, but hey... It's an angsty sort of story. I get the sense with Hotch that he is very sensitive when it comes to his children, especially if you watch him in the show and his interactions with Jack.

You may have noticed that Hotch remembered the dinner at Rossi's house in episode 7x02 I believe. I actually wrote a piece about my take on what happened at that dinner. I'm tempted to upload it separately as a one-shot, but I would have to go through and edit it first.

I'm so excited to share the chapter next week with you guys. I'm currently in the midst of writing it. Thank you all again so much for taking the time to read and review. See you all next week!


	18. The Profile

A/N: Once again, thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read and review! Enjoy this next chapter!

* * *

She couldn't hide the pain and torture in her eyes from him when he looked at her.

Her feet struggled to move, even with her hand being tugged by Bailey. Her stomach was in knots, and she could also hear her own heartbeat in her head. "Mom! Come on!" Bailey yelled with all the enthusiasm she had. Emily broke the eye contact momentarily and glanced down at her daughter's dimpled smile.

The past few days had been sent Emily through a whirlwind of emotions; more than she had known she could experience. And she knew that things were only going to get tougher… She was exhausted, nausea was creeping up on her and yet she still had to sort this situation out.

After what seemed like an eternity, her mother finally dared to walk further into the bullpen. When she spotted her dad standing outside his office, Bailey practically sprinted across the bullpen to her father, crashing into his arms. "Dad! I missed you!"

Hotch knelt and cuddled Bailey, giving her a kiss on her cheek. "I missed you too my princess…Madi's in my office." He whispered.

As quick as she leapt into his embrace, she was rushing into his office. His gaze focused on the woman climbing the stairs. Her eyes glued to the ground and she clutched on to the handbag draped over her shoulder for dear life. Wisps of her dark, straightened hair framed her pale face.

It took a lot of courage to look up at him, but when she did, he was exactly how she remembered him. In a black suit, wearing a light blue shirt with a black and grey striped tie. Dark circles underneath his eyes, a few more wrinkles here and there. The same expressions, the same behaviour.

"Aaron." Her voice sounded tired, and her eyelids looked heavy. Even in her exhausted state, she still looked just as beautiful as he remembered her to be.

He blinked a few times, just staring at her. Emily stood there slightly unnerved but knew that the past few moments were just catching up with him. "Emily…" He finally spoke. His voice was barely a whisper.

Under any normal circumstances, he would have invited her into his office. However, he wasn't about to have the conversation they needed to have with the twins listening in. "Conference room…" He whispered. Emily nodded and glanced momentarily through the window at her babies, drawing together in his office like they had never been apart. It put a sad smile on her face.

Emily followed him down the corridor and into the conference room, reminiscing the years that she spent in the unit. It was surreal walking back in there. Not much about it had changed, there was still the same red wallpaper, the same television. Possibly they had gotten a new tv.

He shut the door gently behind him and sat down in a chair, resting his hands on the table and taking in a deep breath. Emily followed suit, glancing cautiously at him, watching for any hint of anger. There was a long silence between them, just trying to figure out what to say to each other. What did you say to someone you hadn't seen or spoken to for 10 years?

"How are you?" He asked politely. Emily gulped; she hated the small talk.

"Okay." There was a pregnant pause. He noticed her balling her fists together, it was something she did to try and stop herself biting her nails. "I know you have a lot of questions." She finally said.

He nodded. 'A lot of questions' didn't even begin to describe everything he wanted to ask her. He opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say. "I don't understand Emily…" It was the truth.

"I know- "

"No, you don't! I've spent 10 years investigating this with the rest of the team and…" He threw his hands in the air and leant back in the chair, crossing his arms. He was lost for words.

She wasn't fazed by his sudden outburst of anger; she knew that the façade of 'politeness' wouldn't hold up for long. Not with him. "You're right…" She whispered after a few moments. "You have every right to be angry at me, but please… Let me help you understand why I made the decisions I did."

Her shy eyes made contact with his cold steel orbs, and she wanted to crawl under a rock and never come out. There was always something about his eyes that weakened Emily to her knees, it was the way he looked at her that did it. He shook his head and said, "I've read your letter a thousand times… Every day. And…" He looked down at his hands. "It's been too long…"

Her body was numb as he said those words, but she was sure that the emotions along with them would hit her like a ton of bricks later. "I know that you'll probably never forgive me…" She bit down on the inside of her cheek, trying to push her nausea away. "All I want you to know is that I have felt awful for what I have done for the last 10 years, but I had to do it…"

He watched her speak with great regret and sadness in her eyes. As he took in her appearance, he noticed how 'sickly' she looked. She seemed a lot thinner than he remembered her to be, and her voice didn't have that confidence she always used to prominently convey. It was at that moment he realised this had taken a significant toll on her too, but his anger was still there.

"It was going to kill us all if I didn't…"

He furrowed his brow. "It?"

Emily shook her head in anger. Calling the blackmailer 'it' helped to release her own outrage and dehumanised his image in her mind's eye. "He ruined our lives, the last thing 'it' deserves is a personal pronoun…"

"I take it that you have investigated 'it' over the years," Hotch asked her. Emily nodded and opened her black handbag, taking out a dozen files and handing them over to her old partner. Hotch skimmed through them cautiously, keeping his eyes peeled for any clues for who it could be.

"Clyde employed me at Interpol in London; we investigated it as much as we could, but with all the cases we received and the lack of people specialising in profiling, it was hard to get anywhere." Ire swirled in his eyes as he saw the threats sent to Emily, and immediately all his anger towards her faded. He knew at that moment if someone had posted a threat as vulgar as that to him, he would instinctively want to protect his family as well.

"He sent you all these letters… For all of these years…"

Emily released a breathy sigh and nodded. "The last one sent to me was shortly after Madi and I arrived in London… Telling me that if I attempted to make contact with you again, I would feel the consequences."

Hotch nodded, instinctively looking out the window into the bullpen and over at his office, where his girls were. "You've broken one of his rules… He isn't going to be happy. I need to call the rest of the team to brief them."

Emily closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. The nausea was starting to fade now that they had gotten the ball moving, but she shook her head. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"There is so much personal information in those letters that I don't want everyone else to know about."

Hotch nodded and took out his cell phone, "Do you want to catch this guy or not?"

She breathed a heavy sigh and dragged a file closer to her. "I don't think I have a choice."

While Aaron made some quick calls to the rest of the team as well as Jack, Emily arranged all the files in order.

"It all began on January 15th, 2014." She pulled out a file containing the first letter that she received. Hotch's blood boiled as he read the letter word for word.

_I'm watching you. Tell your team, and you'll lose your job. _

"We've seen letters like this throughout our entire career… Why'd you believe it?"

"Because…" Emily rummaged through the file for a photograph. "It came with this…" Hotch took the picture. It was a picture of them all when the twins were only 6 months old. He remembered that day. Emily was feeding one of the twins while jack had his face plastered with chocolate. They were having a picnic. They were happy.

"Son of a bitch…" He muttered.

"I knew from that moment onwards that someone had eyes on us… Eyes on me." She corrected. "I couldn't risk telling anybody. Not even you…" The pain in her voice was evident. Hotch got up and stuck the letter and the photograph onto a board.

"The next letter…"

* * *

"Do you know a guy named Anthony?" Bailey asked her sister. Madison shook her head and picked up a blue pencil, colouring in one of the turtles she had drawn.

"No, why?"

"Coz mom said this guy called Anthony was coming over for coffee. Well…He was going to come over, but then mom found out who I really was and then- "

"That's weird." Madison stopped colouring.

"What?"

"I think I would know if she was seeing a guy called Anthony…" Madison said as she furrowed her brow. All her life, she hadn't seen her mother go out once to try and find a date. Emily had always said that 'she never had time,' or 'it just wasn't worth it'. Although Madison had always believed the real reason was that she still loved her father.

"What are you doing?" Madi asked as she watched Bailey pulled out some caramel chocolate frogs from her father's drawer.

"Hmmm yum." Madi's eyes widened, had she done something like that back at Interpol and Emily found out, she would be in so much trouble. "Want some?" Bailey held the candy up to her face.

"Are we even allowed?" Bailey rolled her eyes.

"No, of course not silly, it's called keeping a secret Madi." Madison relented and took a chocolate frog, savouring the taste. "Uncle Dave!" Bailey leapt out of the chair and nearly bowled Rossi over, who was standing there in the doorway paralysed, just staring at the two identical girls.

Hotch had called him to say that Emily had finally come back, and they needed help to work on the profile. However, he didn't realise how emotionally stunned he'd be when he saw the two girls together. "Hello, pumpkin." He finally said to Bailey after a few moments of contemplation. "Boy haven't you had one hell of a trip!"

"This is Madi…" Bailey pointed to her sister sitting in her Aaron's seat. The only thing distinguishing her from Bailey was her quiet persona and of course, the light birthmark on her lower neck. JJ and Penelope had mentioned it in a phone call to himself and Spencer last night.

Madison looked at Dave with a slight smile. He held open his arms for her, and Madi gave him a hug. "It's nice to finally meet you again, Madison."

"You too… Uncle Dave." It put a broad smile on both their faces.

"Are the rest of the team coming in?" Bailey asked. Rossi smoothed the creases in his shirt.

"Yes… Your dad called us in to help on a case."

"The blackmailer case?" Both girls asked at the same time. Rossi stood there dumbfounded, he didn't know how much or how little they knew, and it wasn't really his place to tell them what was going on.

He nodded anyway; it wouldn't be much good to tell them any more lies. "You better hide the evidence before everyone else gets here." He said, referring to the empty candy wrappers on Hotch's desk. Madison sniggered, hanging out at the BAU was fun.

* * *

The rest of Emily's old team arrived in dribs and drabs.

There were mixed responses from everybody. JJ and Penelope burst into tears upon seeing her, and they hugged together in a huddle until Hotch physically had to drag them away from each other. Spencer and Rossi hesitated at first to even talk at Emily, but after being briefed by Hotch and realising the extent to which she had suffered, whatever anger they had against her disappeared.

It surprised her; the blackmailer had made her do nasty things to everybody that she had known. She wanted them to scream at her, to ignore her, make her feel bad for everything she had done. Instead, the anger was brief and then it was like nothing had ever happened at all.

While Hotch briefed the rest of the team on the new evidence that had been given, Emily removed herself from the conference room. She needed air. It felt surreal seeing everyone again for the first time in a decade and realising how much she had missed, how much everybody had changed and grown. It was like her mind couldn't really comprehend it.

Naturally, her feet took her to Hotch's office where she watched her baby girls dig into the new clothes that Penelope had bought them each. She leaned against the window, watching them through the blinds. She felt so cruel… Leaving them apart for their entire lives, not letting them get to know each other. Her stomach sunk as she watched them giggle.

"Wow… PG spoiled you guys, didn't she?" Emily stated amazed as she glanced at all the pre-teen clothing was strewn all over the floor. So, she shouldn't have been surprised, Penelope had basically bought the twins every piece of clothing they had as babies. Hotch was going to have a field day when he saw his office.

"Mom!" Madi yelled as she saw Emily for the first time in 2 weeks. She trampled over her new clothes to hug her mother, smothering each other with kisses.

"I missed you, honey…"

"Mom! Look at these awesome shorts!" Bailey interrupted as she held up striped zebra shorts. Emily moved some items of clothing so that she could sit down on the couch.

"Bailey, those look so fancy. Penelope has good taste." Emily said as she took the pair of shorts. "What did you get Madi?"

Madison held up a packet of rainbow hair ties and a new polka dot hairbrush. "It's so pretty."

"Are we gonna go home soon, mom?" Bailey asked. Emily noticed that she was already getting bored. She glanced down at her watch, realising that they had been here for at least two hours. "I just wanna sleep…" Emily smoothed a hand through her daughter's hair. Bailey had been too excited to sleep on the plane.

"I'm helping your dad and the rest of his team to try and catch the bad guy that did this, but right now the safest thing that we can do right now is to stay at the FBI," Emily stated as both girls pouted. Obviously fed up with being stuck in the office all afternoon. "Have a sleep on the couch honey…"

"I don't want to sleep in here though… The couch is so hard." Bailey complained. She wasn't wrong, Emily had slept on her office couch many times before, they weren't designed for sleeping.

"I hear Jack's going to be here soon…" Both their pouts turned into wide beams.

"I'm so excited to tell him everything that's happened!" Bailey enthused as she fumbled in the bag Penelope had got for more clothes, temporarily forgetting she was tired.

It put a small smile on Emily's face as she stood up. "We're just down in the conference room, stay here and come get us if you need anything."

Back in the conference room, Hotch stared blankly at the board that was filled to the brim with messages and photographs. Photographs that intruded into his family life, letters that threatened their lives. It boiled the blood in his veins.

"This guy is organised, obviously knows what he is doing," Spencer stated, squinting his eyes at each individual letter. "The writing style is very brisk, it's like he doesn't want to reveal too much of himself, but at the same time he does."

"Look at the gaps between each letter." Rossi stood up and pointed to two letters. "The first letter was on January 15th, along with the photograph. Emily looks at it, feels intimidated, doesn't tell anyone." He moved down the timeline. "Second letter was sent 2 weeks later… This time with the first 'official threat'."

"_Spill coffee over one of your co-workers. Don't do it by Friday and they will know about one of your crimes." _JJ readout. "Emily did a crime?" She asked, confused.

"She rebelled against her parents as a teen, mostly stealing." Hotch clarified, remembering some of the stories that Emily had told him about concerning her past.

"I remember that happening…" Penelope said. "It was Morgan she spilt the coffee on… He just brushed it off though… Said that it was an accident."

Rossi continued, "Emily complies, the third letter is sent after 1 week of that happening."

"So… Each time that she receives a letter, it's even closer to when she last received one." JJ mentioned.

"Right up until Emily was receiving letters daily… Right under my nose." Hotch muttered the last part.

The door opened, and she walked back in, leaning against the wall. There was a brief silence as they all watched her, still in shock that she was physically there.

Spencer shoved his hands in his pockets. "It's a bit strange… Most blackmail cases we have investigated tend to involve money. 'Do this, and I'll give you fifty dollars, do that, and I'll give you a hundred.' With this unsub, he doesn't mention money at all, it's all about hurting the people around you and destroying your reputation…"

"It's personal," Rossi concluded.

"Emily, you have to know this guy…" Penelope stated as she glanced at the woman by the wall. Emily tilted her head and sat down in the seat next to Hotch.

"I came to the same conclusion when I sat down with Clyde and investigated, at first I thought well maybe… It's someone we locked up who's come out of prison, but we investigated dozens of cases. That's easily 300 suspects who fit the bill."

"How would an unsub we locked away know such private information about you though?" Hotch questioned. Emily shrugged and paused for a moment.

"Which letter was the one where it threatened to tell you guys about my miscarriage?" Everyone looked at Emily with pain in their eyes. She was referring to the incident with Doyle. Emily had been pregnant at the time, and when she got staked, inevitably she miscarried the baby.

"You were pregnant?" Spencer asked astounded… "That explained your behaviour and why you were- "

"Reid…" Hotch interrupted.

"Right sorry…" He skimmed the boards looking for the correct letter. "This one."

Emily shook her head. "This is the puzzling part… I never even told anybody that I was pregnant apart from Hotch, JJ and my doctor. Doyle didn't even know…" Chills shivered down her spine as she said his name out loud. It was a name that hadn't been mentioned for many years.

"You were staked, Emily… You needed to have emergency surgery." JJ reminded.

"I was the one who told paramedics that you were pregnant…" Hotch admitted.

"And the paramedics would have told emergency doctors and the surgeon…" Emily continued. She stood up, squinting her eyes and glanced over the letters for the hundredth time.

"Penelope, are you able to look up Emily's medical records?" Hotch asked, clicking his pen.

"Sure can just give me a sec." Her fingers typed ferociously over her keyboard. "Uh… Nothing in her file mentioning pregnancy or miscarriage sir, just that she was physically assaulted by you know who…"

JJ swivelled around in her chair. "So… He had to have been there that day to have obtained that information. He has medical experience."

"Someone working in medicine blackmailing doesn't sit too well with me," Emily stated as she furrowed her brow.

"Medical professionals, particularly paramedics, often work long hours. Up to 12-hour shifts at most. He wouldn't have been able to have had the time and privacy to watch you constantly." Spencer stated.

Rossi squinted his eyes. "So… He either quit his job or…"

"Or he has a partner in crime." Hotch completed.

A chilling feeling swept over the room. Having one unsub was one thing but having two of them completely changed the atmosphere. Two unsubs raised the stakes. If they weren't safe before, they for sure weren't now.

* * *

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I certainly enjoyed writing it. Hope that everyone is doing fine in self-isolation and quarantine. Stay safe everyone and see you all next week!


	19. Lost Time

A/N: Let me know what you think of this chapter. Thanks for all the support guys!

* * *

A chilling silence swept through the room as the team realized that there were at least two unsubs, maybe more. Emily shuddered as Goosebumps lined her arms. Naturally, she bit down on the tips of her fingernails in fear.

"Where are you staying tonight?" Hotch asked her after clearing his throat.

"At the hotel on 7th."

"I want you to come back to my apartment with the twins." Emily nodded in agreement, that was something she'd be willing to do. She couldn't imagine spending another moment away from the girls. "I want everyone here at 9 am sharp tomorrow morning, from now on we are investigating this case and catching the sons of bitches who have done this."

Everyone nodded and packed up all their belongings, Hotch walked out of the conference room, leaving just Emily and the rest of her old team together. She fumbled with her hands, trying to ease any awkwardness between them. "Spencer…" He whipped his head around as he stuffed some files into his shoulder bag that he still carried around after all these years. His long and curly hair touched the tips of his shoulders. "I just wanted to say that I'm so- "

"Don't apologize Emily…" She was stunned into silence. Spencer cleared his throat as his brow furrowed. "You were trying to protect your family…You still are. I would have done the same thing."

Her eyebrows raised. "You would have said all the horrible things that I said?"

He nodded. "Sometimes, Emily, you have to be mean to the people you love to protect them." The smile on his face was soft and genuine as he said that, causing them naturally to fall into a long hug. "It's good to see you again…"

She nodded with a sad smile. "I wish it wasn't under these circumstances… I've missed all you guys, so much." Her gaze fell to Rossi, JJ and Penelope across the table. "I hope you all know that I…" She paused for a moment, not knowing what to say. She ended up just shaking her head and pursing her lips together.

"We know," JJ whispered, walking over to her and resting a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to the ceiling, trying to fan away the tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. "Go home, get some rest…"

She nodded, giving a kind smile and watched as everyone patted her on the shoulder and left the conference room, leaving her in her own thoughts.

* * *

The trip home to Hotch's apartment was incredibly quiet, Bailey was jetlagged, and her tired body was practically draped over Jack in the middle seat. The poor girl must have been so exhausted. She had been for one hell of a journey for a kid her age. Madison was on the other side of Jack, busy reading a book.

Emily sat in the passenger seat of the car, thinking. That's all she felt she did these days. She thought about the car chases she had done with Morgan down the main streets of DC. Drinking at fancy bars with JJ and Penelope, sitting out on the balcony at her old apartment listening to city life, not having a care in the world.

Those were the old days. Part of her wished she still lived in those days. She wouldn't have to worry about her babies' safety, could drink as much as she wanted, wouldn't have to continually maintain a relationship…

At the same time, it sounded like such a boring lifestyle.

As much as she hated her current situation, her most significant moment in life was becoming a mother, and she would never take it back. Bailey and Madison were such miracles to herself and Aaron. She recalled the doctors mentioning to her after the fight with Doyle how minuscule a chance it was that she could get pregnant again, then 7 months later she got the shock of her life.

They were a blessing from God.

Hotch, on the other hand, couldn't have been more aware of his surroundings, he carefully watched each car behind him in the rear-view mirror, making sure they didn't tail them back home. He also glanced back at his girls and Jack in the back.

It was a surreal sight, seeing all three of his children together and it put a small dimpled smile on his face. They were all finally reunited.

"What book are you reading?" Jack asked Madison. She flipped the cover over for him to see.

"One of Bailey's books I found."

"The Treasures of the Lost Ark. She reads that one all the time." Madison smiled.

"I can see why. it's so magical and mysterious. I like it."

Emily threw a glance back at the children. "Madison… I don't understand how you can read so easily while you're in the car. It makes me feel queasy."

"Yeah me too…" Jack said.

Madi shrugged her shoulders. Muttering, "I dunno…"

Hotch pulled into the underground parking lot of his apartment building, killing the engine. Jack nudged Bailey awake who groaned in tiredness, "Are we home?"

Emily nodded, reaching over and smoothing her hand over her knee. "Yes, my baby."

While Hotch carried the suitcases and belongings to the apartment, Emily walked hand in hand with her daughters either side of her. Bailey had her head nestled against the side of her body as they walked. "So, Jack… Last year of school in September?"

He nodded. "Yeah… I can't wait to finish." Her heartstrings pulled as she heard him speak. His voice had deepened so much over the years that he almost sounded just like Hotch.

"Why can't we finish school?" Madison piped up. Emily looked down at her.

"I thought you loved school Madi?"

She crinkled her brow together and thought for a moment. "I do, but sometimes it gets boring."

Jack scoffed. "Yeah I know right… What would you do if you could leave school?"

"Go live with our friends," Bailey announced in her tired state, causing Emily to have a chuckle to herself. Bailey reminded Emily of herself at age 11, wanting to leave home and live with her friends back in other countries.

A twinkle formed in Madi's eye. "Yeah… Our friend Abby lives in Vermont, and Savannah lives in California! I've always wanted to go to California mom, can we please go?"

Emily got trapped in her thoughts for a moment. She hadn't even considered her relationship with Aaron and where it was going, and Madison was already asking if they could all go on holiday together. "Maybe one day…"

Everyone crammed into the elevator, taking them to the fifth floor. Hotch unlocked the door, lugging the suitcases behind him. At the same time, Jack and the twins reigned free of the apartment, immediately running down to Bailey's room. Emily stood at the door, observing the place.

Everywhere she looked, there were pictures of Jack and Bailey around the apartment. She walked over to one on the side table, seeing Bailey dressed up as Jessie from Toy Story and Jack dressed as Buzz lightyear. She figured it must have been for Halloween one year. Her hands traced over their tiny faces, Jack couldn't have been any older than 10, making Bailey around 4 or 5.

Out of nowhere, came the sudden sensation to cry. Her hands started to tremble, and her mouth began to quiver. She couldn't break down. Not now. Not when Aaron was around. She didn't want to appear vulnerable to him. Somehow, she manoeuvred herself to the couch, clutching the photograph, closing her eyes and rubbing her leg softly.

Footsteps approached behind her, but she already knew who it was when the aroma of his cologne hit her nostrils.

Aaron heard her trying to slow her breathe down, and his heart ached for her. He knew that she was just processing all her emotions, but it pained him. Every time she cried, he would always try and comfort her as best he could. He sat down at the other end of the couch, not too far, but not too close either. "You okay?" He asked, concerned.

She blinked away the tears in her eyes and nodded, but then ended up shaking her head as they violently fell onto the photograph. Leaning over, she rested her face in the crevasse of her legs as her body shook with each sob. Embarrassment surged through her as she couldn't hold back her tears in front of him. He had become her weakness, the one person who could truly shatter her to pieces and yet totally fulfil her.

Hotch hesitated to reach out his hand. He wasn't sure what her reaction would be, if he touched her. She could scream at him or pull back further into her shell. He knew that's what he didn't want to happen. He wanted her to open up to him, wanted to sooth her of all her pain and sorrow. He just wanted to comfort her, not sit there and do nothing.

He slowly rested a hand on the top of her back, near her shoulders. It was the first physical touch they'd had in over 10 years. He rubbed circles gently, making sure that he stayed in one area.

He said nothing as she continued to sob. There really wasn't anything to say. It was 10 years' worth of pain, lament and torture being released.

Emily tried to slow her breathing down as she felt his warm and gentle touch on her upper back. She needed to calm down; the one thing she couldn't stand was breaking down in front of him.

Eventually, after 10 minutes of sobbing on the couch, the tears finally subsided. Her face finally came out from her shell. Her eyes squinted as she adjusted to the harsh light again. Wiping her cheeks, she looked over to see Aaron looking at her with all sorts of emotion in his eyes.

"I'm sorry…" She croaked. He shook his head.

"Don't be…" Was all he could manage to say. His hand fell to his lap as his eyes watched her wipe away the remnant tears scattering down her cheeks. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Emily sniffled and immediately shook her head, standing up and dusting off her perfectly clean clothes. "No… I… I'd rather not. Where's the bathroom?"

Aaron gave her directions to the bathroom, watching as she disappeared out of his view. His hands rubbed the back of his neck, before taking hold of the photograph Emily had been clutching as she sobbed. Every picture he'd ever had of Jack and Bailey he had framed somewhere in the apartment. He did have photos of Madison and Bailey tucked away in a box somewhere in storage from when they were little, it had been too painful to look at them again though.

His thoughts were interrupted as Bailey and Madison paraded into the living room. "Dad?" Bailey asked. He whipped his head around to see the two girls covered in some of the jewellery that Penelope had gotten them. "Can Madi sleep in my room tonight?"

Aaron nodded as a small smile passed over his face. "I don't see why not… I'll go into the storage cupboard to find a mattress."

"No dad, the bed is big enough for us both to sleep in…" Bailey argued.

"Bailey, my girl, you sleep like a starfish. Your sister will murder you in your sleep." He argued back, causing a small giggle to emerge from Madi.

Madi added, "That's true… You do move around a lot too." Remembering the night of having to share a tent with her. Bailey rolled her eyes.

"Fine…" She relented.

Aaron fumbled through the cupboard, trying to search for the fold-out mattress for Madison. After setting it up in Bailey's room, the girls began to pillow fight like madmen, evoking laughter throughout the apartment.

He couldn't help but smile, his dimples protruding into his cheeks. He travelled to the living room, finding Emily out of the bathroom, sitting on the couch, with her nose in a book. "Funny… For someone so tired, she has a lot of energy." She said, referring to Bailey, who was screaming with laughter down the hall.

Aaron scoffed and sat down at the other end of the couch, resting his hands over the back of his head. "She's always been like that. Box of birds…"

There was a silence. Emily closed the book and placed it on the side table. Her eyes glanced over to her old partner; his eyes glued to nowhere in particular. As if he knew what she was thinking, he said, "We'll catch them Em."

She shook her head and leaned it against her hand. "If only I had told you a decade ago… I wonder how different things would have been."

He nodded slowly, "Part of me wished you had." She closed her eyes, feeling guilt creeping up her back again. "But I understand why now…" He continued.

"Would you have done the same thing?" He crossed his arms and thought long and hard for a few minutes, just staring into space until he finally muttered,

"This is the thing; I want so badly to be mad at you. I want to blame everything that's happened to you, but I can't." He said hopelessly. "Because I know that your intentions were to protect our family." Emily nodded, listening to every word. "Any anger I have is towards the people who have done this."

She brushed a strand of hair out of her face before whispering, "I keep thinking to myself, how much more could I have done? How could I have outsmarted these lunatics? How could I solve this once and for all?" She laughed to herself. "And then our 11-year-old daughters, who don't know each other, manage to somehow swap lives and bring us all together again…"

Aaron bit the inside of his cheeks, trying to keep all his emotions in check as he thought about his daughters reunited. Emily continued, "I guess what I'm trying to say is…" She gulped. "I wish I hadn't left. I wish back then I could have chosen a better option."

He nodded as he watched the woman at the other end of the couch, trying to blink away her pain. "I think any mother as devoted as you would have done the same if it meant us all being alive…"

She disclosed a sad smile and slowly shook her head. "I don't feel like a devoted mother, Aaron… I feel like the worst mother in the world." With that, she stood up and walked down to the guest bedroom, shutting the door behind her and mentally preparing herself for another round of tears.

* * *

"We've got another letter…" Aaron announced as he and Emily walked into the conference room. He dumped the letter in the evidence bag on the table.

"_You've broken the contract, now you will pay_." Spencer readout. "Hey, Emily, when was the last letter sent to you?"

She closed her eyes, trying to remember. "Right after I arrived in London, making it nine years ago roughly."

"What are you thinking, Reid?" Hotch asked.

He squinted his eyes, studying the other letters on the board. "It just seems odd to me that they haven't sent a letter for nine years, I mean unsubs so obsessed with you, love to make themselves known every day."

Emily nodded, stroking her chin with her index finger. "So, what happened with these unsubs?"

"They had to have known where you went, I mean they sent you a letter in London," JJ stated.

"If they knew where I lived, why didn't they come after me?"

Hotch furrowed his brow. "Seeing you in pain from the separation was obviously enough for them."

"That would mean hours and hours of surveillance, though. There is something that we are missing here…" Rossi said flustered, scribbling notes on the whiteboard. "Blackmailers and stalkers wouldn't just walk away from torture. They are the sorts of people that thrive on it. These people had to have been in contact with you if they weren't sending you letters."

Emily tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. "You mean that I have potentially been talking to my blackmailers every day for the last 10 years without knowing?" She asked incredulously.

Hotch chucked a notepad across the table to Emily and a pen. "Write down every single name you can think of who you've been in contact with."

She scoffed and shook her head. "You've got to be kidding me."

"It's our only option of finding these guys." He replied. "Garcia were you able to track down the medical personnel who were working at the hospital the night Emily had her accident?"

She typed vigorously on the keyboard. "It took some doing, but yes. I was able to find out the paramedics who treated Emily that night. ER personnel were a little more difficult, but I narrowed down the names."

"What about the surgeon?" Spencer inquired.

"The surgeon died of a heart attack seven years ago."

Rossi nodded. "That eliminates the surgeon."

Penelope uploaded the names and profiles onto the television screen. "Are you able to trace where they have lived in the past 10 years?" Hotch asked.

"I'll work my magic…" Her eyebrows raised, and her body shuddered. "Oh…"

"What?" Hotch asked impatiently.

"One guy… Tomas Fielding. He worked in the intensive care unit after Emily came out of surgery. He moved to London at almost the same time as Emily left."

A mugshot of a scratchy man appeared on the screen. He had cold and dark blue eyes, jet black greasy hair with a small scar near the top of his scalp. "You recognize him?" Rossi asked Emily, who shook her head in response.

"He worked as a nurse?" She asked in disbelief.

"He was fired from his job, after- get this- inappropriate contact with a patient," Penelope stated as she read through his file. "After moving to London, he managed to secure a job as a janitor… Oh no…"

Emily looked up from the notepad, her eyes widening. "Penelope?" She asked nervously.

"A janitor who has connections at Interpol."

Memories of sitting at her office late at night suddenly flooded back. She gasped, and her mouth flew open. "Emily?" JJ asked.

"He was wearing a disguise! That's why I couldn't recognize him… I remember now."

"What about his behaviour?" Hotch asked.

She blinked intensely as she recovered her memories. "Lots of small talk, he would hang around for ages after everyone else in the office went home." She cursed herself for not noticing sooner. "To think that he went through all of my personal items… He knows everything about me."

"He would have noticed that you left…" Rossi clarified.

Hotch crossed his arms, "Penelope, has he entered the United States in the past few days?"

"There's no evidence that he has…"

"JJ, call border security and tell them to detain Tomas Fielding if he happens to arrive." JJ nodded and left the room, making a phone call. "Garcia, I want you to dig through every single moment of Fielding's life. Rossi and Reid, I want you to interview some of the nurses that knew him back in 2011. Emily, I want you to make a phone call to Clyde. Tell him to come over asap. We need to find out who this other unsub is…"

* * *

A/N: I had lots of fun writing this chapter, hopefully, some of the questions you may have had about the situation or the blackmailers have been answered, if not they will be in the next few chapters.

Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. Thanks again, guys!


	20. Another Setback

A/N: I am extremely grateful for everybody who has supported this story. Since it was June 4th yesterday and June 4th is the twins birthday in this story, I decided I would all give you a nice little surprise and upload two chapters. I had a lot of fun writing the second chapter and I can't wait for you all to read them. Enjoy!

* * *

Emily breathed a sigh of relief when Clyde said that he'd be able to fly over within the next 12 hours. As much as she hated the man's guts sometimes, he really had been invaluable to her. Whether it had been looking after Madison, covering for her at work when she was away, or now, when she needed help putting away two blackmailers for good.

After sending him wishes of safety, Emily hung up and briefed Hotch of the plan.

"He's bringing my cat over with him by the way." Hotch shot Emily a confused look. "I asked him to look after the cat." She clarified.

Aaron's face morphed into an expression of understanding. He had forgotten how much of a cat person Emily was. Shaking the thought of having a cat in his apartment away, he focused his attention back on the case.

JJ walked back into the room, shoving her phone in her back pocket. "I called national security, every airport in the country has alerts on his name and passport, if he happens to arrive, we'll be the first to know."

Hotch nodded while Emily sat down in the chair. "We haven't considered the possibility that he may have another identity… He may already be here." Emily reasoned.

"But if he isn't, then someone local slipped that new letter under the door this morning, which means that one unsub had eyes on me, while Tomas had his eyes on you."

Hotch's cell phone rang, it was Penelope calling from her office. "What have you got Garcia?"

"Okay, so the more that I dig into this creep, the more creeped out I get. So basically, his school life was an absolute misery. He excelled in the maths and English departments but failed everything else. He was quite often in trouble at school, getting into petty fights with other males, stealing tests. That sort of thing. He's a geeky, weird and strange creep."

"Failing the sciences, that would mean that his chances of becoming a nurse were pretty slim then," Emily said, furrowing her brow.

"That's the weird thing… It says here that he enrolled in a summer school, learning all the science skills needed to be accepted into nursing school, and surprisingly… He passed."

"A sociopath…" Hotch said to himself. "He was able to get into that job because he had at least some sense of empathy."

"You call sending death threats empathetic?" Emily questioned raising a brow.

"It's the reason why he hasn't touched you… A psychopathic blackmailer wouldn't hesitate in hurting somebody, but a sociopathic one knows on some sense that it's wrong."

Emily sighed. "Okay… So, we know that he is a sociopath, what does that make his partner then?"

JJ rested a hand on her hip and bit the inside of her cheek. "If Fielding had hesitations sending you a letter, then someone dominating him must have convinced him to do it."

"A psychopathic partner would make sense. We have seen those sorts of partnerships before in serial killings." Emily stated.

Hotch added some keywords to the whiteboard for the second unsub. "That indicates that the sort of relationship they have is one-sided, manipulated. Fielding may be blackmailed himself for all we know." Emily and JJ nodded in agreement.

"Garcia, are you still there?" Emily asked, leaning back in the chair.

"What do you need my BFF?"

"What information is there on Fielding's family?"

"Only that he's an only child, his father died in 1990 in a bar brawl in Arizona. Mother is critically ill in a mental facility in West Virginia."

Hotch asked, "Any other traumatic events as a kid?"

"Oh, that's going to take some investigating."

"What about security footage from my apartment? Got any pictures of people entering and leaving the building?"

Garcia hummed to herself over the line. "I've isolated frames of everyone that walked in and out over the last 12 hours, I'll send over the pictures to your devices."

Hotch nodded, "Thanks, Garcia." The call ended.

"I don't know how much help his mother is going to be in a vegetative state," JJ stated.

Emily rubbed her temples frustrated. "Our only option is waiting for Fielding to come into the country." She stood up and grabbed an extra spoonful of sugar to chuck into her coffee. Her eyes were so tired, it had been difficult to sleep the previous night.

Rossi and Reid arrived back some few hours later. Hotch had called Jessica to check in on the kids and Jack who were condemned to the apartment, according to her, they were all busy watching the Harry Potter series. And no new letters had been slipped under the door.

Rossi explained to the rest of the team that, according to some of the nurses Fielding worked with, he had a fiery temper and could be very hot and cold. "That almost sounds like a mental disorder," Emily stated. "Like Bipolar."

The conversation was interrupted as a knock sounded at the door. It was the Section Chief overseeing the BAU. "Chief Hensley," Hotch announced as he glanced at the woman standing in the doorway. Emily watched on nervously. A visit from the Chief was never enjoyable, particularly when cases you investigated involved personal connections.

Glancing at her long, ebony hair and piercing green eyes, Emily felt intimidated. She skimmed the woman up and down, impressed by what looked to be 5-inch black heels, with a simple black pencil skirt and a light green blouse that matched her eyes.

"A word, Agent Hotchner." Aaron gulped, hoping that whatever she wanted to talk to him about wasn't going to cost him the case.

"Excuse me."

Aaron escorted her to his office. Her heels clicked periodically on the catwalk. He was thankful that the twins had been left at the apartment for the day. He shut the door behind them, looking her in the eye. "You are personally involved in this case, I can't have you leading this team if your judgement is clouded."

"Ma'am my judgement is not clouded at all. The team and I all must catch the people that did this."

"I'm requesting that this case be transferred to Agent Davies unit." Hotch's eyes widened in disbelief. She couldn't be serious… There was no way in hell that he was going to let anybody else catch the people who were doing this to his family. He wanted to kick the suckers in the balls himself and put their small asses in prison.

"We've already got a profile on the go…"

"I'm sorry if this has caused you any grief, but I will not have any agents personally involved, risking their lives to catch these unsubs."

Aaron breathed a heavy sigh and looked up to the ceiling, wondering what to tell the rest of the team. They wouldn't be thrilled about the situation. "All due respect ma'am but transferring the case to another team takes up valuable time that we simply don't have."

"Agent Hotchner…" She reprimanded in her stern voice. "Listen to me. You will be assigned another case to work on while the other team catches the people who did this. -"

"I'm not going to work on another case." He said, standing his ground. "I am either going to work this case here, or I am staying home with my kids and their mother, protecting them from any more potential threats."

Tiffany Hensley squinted her eyes at the Agent and stood there in silence for a few moments, weighing up the options. "That's what you really want to do?"

He nodded. "You know better than anyone that we will be able to bring these unsubs to justice."

"How can you be so sure? You said something similar some 10 years ago. Look how long it has been." Anger bubbled underneath his skin. The woman infuriated him, always had, always will. He knew that it was a part of her job, every section chief he had dealt with in his career questioned his abilities and decisions. It was just one of those things that came with his job that he had to endure.

He held back the temptation to scowl at her.

"It's taken over 10 years because we didn't have the evidence we needed… Now we do." He said through gritted teeth.

Tiffany's cold eyes stared right through him. "If you proceed with this case, you know the consequences that come along with it. You will be critically assessed in your job and may even be fired."

He shook his head. "I will spend the rest of my life hunting these people down if it comes down to that ma'am, whether I have this career or not-"

"Well, that's not a risk that I am willing to take, Agent. I am asking that you step down from this case effective immediately." He shook his head and raised his hands in defeat. "I will have agents assigned outside your apartment for extra security over the next few days."

Hotch sulked back to the conference room with the Chief, explaining the situation to the rest of the team. He could see clearly in Emily's eyes how disappointed and devastated she was. His heart ached for her, he wanted things to be over as much as she did.

"I don't believe this…" Emily said in the car as they drove back home. "She expects us to just sit at home and not do anything?" Ire sparkled in her voice. The rage almost made her want to scream her head off.

Aaron shrugged his shoulders and readjusted his hands on the wheel. "I tried Emily… I really did."

"Since when did she get that job? She looks like someone tugged her skinny body off a branch."

"She's been in that job for years."

"And what about this 'Agent Davies' is he capable of finding out who did this?"

"'She' and yes… We may not see eye to eye, but her team is competent." Emily quieted for a moment, resting her head against the window and sighing.

"Can't we do something, Aaron?" She said after a few moments. "Anything… I don't think I have the strength to sit at home, while these guys go around torturing us even more than they already have." Hotch glanced over at her frail body. "I just want my family to be safe…"

He nodded and focused his gaze back on the road. "We will be Emily… I can promise you that." She cast a half-smile across to him, and the rest of the trip home was spent in silence.

Both agents walked into the apartment to find Bailey and Madison sprawled out across the floor, with popcorn scattered around them, with their gazes focused on a Harry Potter movie. The curtains were shut, lights were off, leaving the room completely dark.

"Mom! Dad! Can you come and watch this movie with us?" One of the twins asked from the floor, Emily had to look at them carefully to figure out which one was which. It was difficult in the dark.

Hotch locked the door behind him and placed his belongings next to the side table. He stepped over all the blankets; small pieces of popcorn scrunched underneath his shoes. Emily grabbed a scoopful of some from the bowl, stuffing it into her mouth, letting its buttery goodness diffuse through her mouth. "Let me guess, this is the Goblet of Fire?"

Bailey nodded. "Ya-ha" Emily knelt on the ground, placing a small kiss to each of their foreheads, evoking a smile from both.

She found Hotch and Jessica in the kitchen, he was filling the kettle up with water, while Jessica sat behind the counter, fumbling with a cup in her hands. Jessica gave a warm smile to Emily as she walked into the room.

Jessica truly hadn't aged much over the past 10 years. The long curls she prominently remembered was still the same length, and she had just as much warmth as she remembered her to have. One of the relationships that were the most difficult for Emily to let go of was her relationship with Jessica. They had bonded over Haley and her death. Bonded over their love for Aaron and Jack. She had been a great friend.

Emily took a seat next to her. "Coffee?" Aaron asked her. She nodded vigorously. It was something that she was craving.

"Please."

Jessica turned to glance over at her. "I'm sorry that your case got transferred… Aaron was just telling me about it." Emily nodded and forced a small smile to Jessica. It was nice to know that Jessica still cared about her.

She felt so frustrated. So flustered. The one thing that she wanted was to just lock the guys away. And she didn't want anyone else to do it, she personally felt that it was her job. To get right into their face and kick them in the guts, making them feel every emotion that they had made her experience. Now, she couldn't do that. It gave her a sense of powerlessness and defeat.

"Yeah… Well. I guess it was inevitable." Emily replied, twirling a piece of her hair between her fingers. "Have they been okay?"

Jessica nodded and glanced at the entryway to the living room. "They have been absolute gems. I didn't realise how different Madison would be to Bailey."

Hotch felt a smirk creep through his lips as he heard his girls talking in the living room. He could hear the sad music from the movie echoing through the apartment. It still hadn't sunk in properly that his kids were all together, that the love of his life was back in his apartment after all these years. Everything felt surreal. It felt like he'd looked away for a second, and everything he had ever wanted appeared in front of him.

As the kettle boiled, he leant against the doorway to the living room, watching his girls talk and shove mountain loads of popcorn into their mouths. He felt so happy for them, and yet so upset at the same time. His heart broke as he thought about the time they had lost together. Not only had he missed out on a life with his Madison, but Madison had missed out on a life with her sister.

They wouldn't have memories of fighting with each other's toys as little kids. They wouldn't have memories of shared birthday parties. No memories of Halloween and Christmases.

The enormity of the situation weighed on his shoulders. Thankfully, at the moment, they didn't seem to be too bothered about it, but he knew that there would come a day where every emotion they had spilled out all at once.

That was what terrified him.

The water in the kettle boiled and he poured it into the cups he'd prepared with coffee. "Em… You still have sugar in yours, right?"

She nodded in response. Emily had always preferred a small teaspoon of sugar with her coffee, it gave it a kick. Aaron handed her the hot mug, closing her eyes as she smelt its aroma.

"So… How long do you think it will take for this other team to catch these guys?" Jessica asked. Hotch leant forward against the counter, resting his forearms on the surface and shrugged his shoulders.

He watched as Emily rubbed her temples, it seemed to be the last subject she wanted to talk about. "If they are in this district, then they shouldn't be too difficult to catch," Aaron stated. "But with that being said, they are dangerous. They will hurt us if they get the chance, now that the last threat has been disobeyed."

Jessica nodded; fear embedded deep in her eyes. "I hope they don't hurt you…" She spoke with a soft tremble in her voice.

"They won't have a chance to… Not if I'm around. Nobody is leaving this apartment; nobody leaves unless we are altogether." Emily nodded, feeling immense guilt and sadness creeping up on her again. She shook her head, pushing any feelings she did have away and took a sip of the coffee.

"Mom…" Emily heard a voice from the doorway. At first glance, she thought that it was Madison, but upon closer look, it was actually Bailey.

That was going to take a bit of getting used to.

"Yes, Honey?" Bailey walked over to her mother; Emily brushed a hand through Bailey's thin hair that was filled with knots. That was what happened when you had only just met your sister, you just forgot about all the jobs you needed to do to get ready in the morning, including brushing your hair.

Bailey winced as her mother tugged at a knot. "Can you come and watch the movie with us?" She asked with her big beady, dark eyes. Eyes that Emily could not resist. She tilted her head and placed a small kiss to the top of her forehead.

"Of course, baby… I'll be there in a moment." A large beam erupted from Bailey, and she galloped back into the living room. Hotch's eyes traced after her, then focused his attention again on the women in front of him when Bailey disappeared out of sight.

Jessica pushed the cup in her hands towards Hotch and stood up, brushing out the pleats and wrinkles in her long beige skirt. "I'm going to get going." Both Emily and Hotch thanked her and gave her a hug, telling her to stay safe and to be aware.

Jessica found Jack hiding in his room and gave him a hug. After trying to find her way to the front door through the labyrinth of popcorn and mountains of blankets, the twins waved her goodbye. Emily took a chance to lay on the couch on her side, resting her feet on the armrest while her head fell against a soft pillow. It smelt of Hotch. She buried her hands close to her chest as she felt her eyes fall. It would only be a matter of time before she passed out.

However, there was no chance to rest as both daughters climbed on top of her. Madison managed to wriggle behind her, resting her cold hands on the back of Emily's neck. She dramatically shuddered in response, causing laughter to rumble throughout the room from both girls. Bailey squirmed herself between the edge of the couch and her mother, meaning Emily was sandwiched between the two of them, practically inhaling Bailey's hair.

Emily couldn't help but laugh along with her little girls as they snuggled in close to her body. Madison's cold cheek made contact with her warm one, while Emily draped an arm over Bailey's body.

At that moment, Aaron walked into the living room, sitting on the other couch, watching all his girls burst into fits of laughter. It was the happiest he had seen Emily in a long time. He couldn't help but laugh along too, as the girls began tickling her on her stomach, causing all her limbs to flail in all sorts of directions.

Bailey struggled to catch her breath in between fits of laughter as she got kicked off the couch, only to jump back on Emily. "Go get… your father!" Emily desperately yelled. Aaron's eyes widened as both girls eyed him up with their devilish dark eyes. He had no chance to run as they bombarded him, their little claws for hands digging into every inch of his waist.

He couldn't for the life of himself contain his giggles. Somehow, he managed to grab onto one of the twins- he believed it was Madison- and flung her over his shoulder, causing the girl to shriek into giggles. He stood up and spun her around.

She may have been 11; however, she was still quite light. Emily watched on in happiness as her daughters interacted with their father; a huge smile on her face. In that moment she had forgotten everything that had happened between each one of them. In that moment, it was just her, Hotch and their two babies. For a moment, everything was as it should be.

They were a family.


	21. Midnight Talks

A/N: As promised, here is the second part of this chapter... Hope you all like it!

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It had been 2 whole days that they had been condemned to the apartment. And while it was nice to be with her family, with each passing day, the anxiety deep inside kept growing and growing.

She felt terrified.

Terrified about everything.

Emily lay in the guest bed with her eyes wide awake. She was unbelievably tired, but it just happened to be one of those nights where her mind couldn't shut off. Every time she closed her eyes, a new thought would pop into her head.

What if one of the unsubs break into the apartment?

What if something happened to her children?

What if something happened to herself?

Her mind was spiralling. And with each passing second, it was getting harder and harder to breathe. She needed to get out of here. Get out of the apartment. Craved fresh air.

Maybe that would lull her to sleep.

She tiptoed out of the bedroom, careful not to make any noise. Hotch's door was slightly ajar, and she heard gentle snores radiating from his room. That was a good sign. He was fast asleep.

Biting the inside of her cheek, she slowly and as quietly as she could unlocked the front door. But not before she felt a firm hand grip her wrist. She shrieked in fear and instinctively used her other hand to punch whoever it was that had gripped her hand, but he caught that one as well in mid-air.

"What the hell are you doing?" Hotch whispered through gritted teeth. Emily closed her eyes and tried to slow down her breathing rate, which was incredibly fast-paced.

She quietly yelled, "Aaron! You trying to scare the crap out of me?"

"You trying to get yourself killed?"

In the harsh moonlight coming through the blinds, she could see the outline of his sharp, chiselled face. His hands still gripped both her forearms tightly. She shoved them closer to her body, loosening his grip on them.

"Leave me alone… I'm fine."

She could have sworn that there was fire swirling around in his eyes. "I don't care if you are fine… Didn't we make an agreement that when someone leaves the apartment, we all leave together?"

Emily scoffed an action that offended Hotch. "What you think this is a joke now?"

She shook her head and locked the door again, "I just wanted some air… What the hell are you doing awake? I thought you were asleep." She realized the snoring she heard must have been coming from Jack's room.

"I heard you moving around." It wasn't a lie. He had been having a hard time falling asleep as well, and the one thing keeping him awake was hearing rustling sheets coming from the guest bedroom.

Emily bit her bottom lip. "Nothing wrong with your hearing, is there?" The little moment of humour evoked a small smile from Aaron. Only for a split second though, then his expression turned sombre again.

He was furious at her. Mad that he couldn't trust her. Angry that she had the gall to unlock the door and potentially get herself killed. His eyes narrowed down on hers, and he just stared at her for who knows how long.

It was hard to see her in the dark, but he could make out flickers of light in her dark eyes from the moonlight. There was also the silhouette of her bed hair. Emily broke the eye contact and touched her way into the kitchen, switching on a light and grabbing a bottle of milk from the fridge.

Hotch followed her, leaning his back against the counter, watching her pour milk into a glass. He crossed his arms together, his eyes never leaving her body. It was only then that he noticed she was wearing a red tank top exposing her bony shoulders, with long black track pants.

He always thought that she looked stunning in red. The colour really suited her.

She could feel his eyes burning her, but she honestly couldn't give a damn. She shouldn't have even been surprised that he was awake, he was Hotch after all. And after all the years that she had known him, there was always one other thing up his sleeve that surprised her. Such as; scaring the living daylight out of her during the night.

Skulling back the milk, she turned around and leaned back against the counter, mimicking his position. They were now opposite each other, just staring at each other with tired, yet alert eyes. "It's alright… You can stop looking at me. I'm not gonna try and escape."

Somehow, saying that didn't work, he continued to watch her like a hawk. With that somewhat intimidating gaze. Emily knew that it was his way of trying to scare her, he didn't consciously realize it, but he did that to every unsub he had ever interrogated.

Some things never changed.

"I don't believe you." He muttered after some time. Emily laughed to herself. What an adventure she had gotten herself into, getting out of bed in the middle of the night. Maybe she'd walk into his room next time and poke him, just to double-check he was asleep.

She cocked her head to the side, raising one eyebrow. "Even if I had gone out there Aaron, I wouldn't have gone far…"

But he wasn't having it, he shook his head and scowled at her.

Yup… He was pissed at her.

_Whoops_… Emily thought to herself.

"Have you suddenly forgotten the reason why we are having this conversation at 2 in the morning? There are two asses out there Em who are torturing us, and you think that it's okay to go for a little midnight stroll on your own?"

That seemed to sober her up. Her 'I don't give a crap' expression turned into pain and anguish. It burdened him to see her upset, but he'd rather see her upset than see her dead.

She shook her head and made eye contact with the kitchen floor. He was right. She had made a foolish mistake, and he potentially had just saved her life. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

Hotch hadn't really known what she was going to say and was surprised by what came out of her mouth. He wanted to reply, 'I want to ask the same thing', but at least he had a brain. And a soul. You didn't say that sort of thing to someone who had suffered years of torture. He was still mad as hell at her, but he didn't want to rip her to pieces.

He just wanted her to understand the cost of her actions. And to be safe.

The last thing he wanted was for his girls to lose their mother for good. He'd learned his lesson when Haley had died. And that wasn't going to happen again.

Instead, he asked her, "Are you okay?"

She was silent for a moment, processing the last few minutes.

She shook her head.

Of course, she could have easily nodded and said, 'yes… I am okay', but she was sick of the lying. There was no point in lying to him any more than she had, so she just shook her head. He would have been able to tell if she was lying anyway. They may have been apart for years, but that didn't mean they had forgotten their 'tell-tale' symptoms.

"What's bothering you?" He whispered.

Emily bit her cheek and opened a window in the dining area before pulling a chair next to it. Hotch followed suit, feeling the warm July air diffuse through the apartment.

Truth be told, a million things were bothering her. And she didn't know where she wanted to begin. Should she start with picking up the pieces of their relationship? Talk about all the memories she'd had with Madison over the years? Or should she talk to him about her feelings; the good, the bad, the ugly.

Her hands fell to her lap, much to her surprise, she didn't feel an inch of anxiety or jitters. Not when he was around. She felt completely at ease. Secure. Finally, she felt ready to talk to him.

"Did she ask about me?" Aaron assumed that she was asking about Bailey. He nodded.

"I wanted to tell her so much about you… But I honestly couldn't." His breath hitched momentarily. "It was too painful."

Emily nodded, pursing her lips together. She told him how she had done the same with Madison. How she would start to tell stories about him but would get distracted, and go entirely into another world. She laughed to herself. "Madi has always been so much like you Aaron… She's so observant and so…" The right words couldn't come out of her mouth. "She always noticed everything I did. I couldn't exactly get away with a lot of stuff."

Hotch let a dimpled smile rise to his cheeks as he heard about his daughter. And he felt nothing but pride. "And Bailey… She's like your clone."

Emily laughed, looking at the moon, high in the sky. "I hope to God she is nothing like I was as a teenager. I was terrible to my parents…"

Aaron followed her gaze and leaned back in the chair. "She hasn't started smoking, or robbing corner stores… Not yet, anyway." Emily smiled and shook her head.

"Don't joke about it, Aaron…" She heard a giggle.

She couldn't believe it. He was giggling to himself, and it made her want to wrap her arms around all of him and kiss him to death.

Immediately, she pushed that thought far, far away. Part of her couldn't believe that thought had even popped into her head. She wasn't ready to kiss him; wouldn't that be a little wrong given their situation?

On the outside, her expression was utterly poker-faced; however, Hotch could see underneath that she was deep in thought. He took a moment to truly look at her. There was something about her face that had always attracted him, and to this day, he still couldn't place what it was. Maybe it was everything, how her round cheeks harmonized with her pale skin. How her eyebrows perfectly complemented her eyes.

There was no other way to describe her apart from 'beautiful'. He wanted to reach out and stroke her face, but he had to physically hold his hand to stop himself.

He didn't know what her thoughts were about restarting their relationship. The relationship they had lost. It was something that he had been craving. After Emily had left, it had been incredibly difficult for him to get back on the dating scene, and part of the reason for that was because he didn't want to. There was always a part of him that believed she would just show up.

That and the fact he didn't think he could love anyone else as much as he loved her.

Emily smiled as the warm breeze hit her face, gently moving wisps of her hair. "I want to show you something…" Hotch watched as she left the room and returned moments later with a small light pink box. She sat back down again and removed the lid.

His eyes widened as he saw at least a hundred photographs of Madison. He could already feel tears wanting to water down his eyes. Glancing up at Emily, he felt immense gratification for her, for capturing these moments.

Emily passed him the picture of their daughter that had been on her desk at Interpol. Madi looked so incredibly different with long hair, but still just as beautiful. He traced his hand over the outline of her face, over her small smile.

Emily then passed him a picture of Madison at the beach as a baby. Her chubby feet were digging into the sand, and she had a cute little polka-dotted sunhat on. His eyes squinted at her, and his head tilted to the side. Emily thought that he was going to cry.

"I knew that one day, you would see her again… I tried to capture as many memories as I possibly could. I even recorded some…"

Aaron nodded and took the box from Emily, trundling through pictures of Madison's life back in England. He didn't even bother to hide the tear that was trickling down his cheek. When it came to his children, he was the most sensitive man out there.

He came across a picture of her dressed up in make-up, in a selfie with her mother. There was a happy expression on both their faces. Personally, he thought the picture was adorable. "She's a sucker for getting into all my make-up," Emily stated as she saw the picture.

Most of the photographs Emily hadn't looked at for years… Madison occasionally would come into her bedroom back in England and dig under the bed, looking for the box. She liked to look at pictures of herself as a baby, but Emily was confident that she didn't know about the videos she had taken of her.

They must have spent at least an hour, looking through all the pictures, until he finally came across a USB stick which he assumed contained all the videos of Madison. He wanted to watch each individual video right there and then, but part of him wanted to wait until Jack, and the girls were awake so they could watch too.

Closing the pink box shut, he was utterly speechless. He had hardly taken any pictures of Bailey growing up, it was mostly JJ and Penelope who had taken on that role. He looked over to Emily, who was watching him curiously.

"I know… That's it's not the same, but… I wanted you to see. I didn't want you to miss out on some of the big milestones." Aaron slowly nodded, wiping away another tear down his cheek.

Emily watched on in pain as the man that she loved shed a few tears. In her years of knowing him, she had only seen him cry on a few occasions, but with his children, he really was just a big marshmallow.

She didn't care what boundaries they had anymore, she removed the box from his lap and awkwardly hugged him. It wasn't anything romantic, it wasn't anything sexual. She just wanted to give him a friendly hug. Wanted to show him that she was there for him like he was there for her when she bawled on the couch.

Aaron didn't resist, instead, pulled her a little closer to himself, smiling amongst his pain. He stood up that way he could adequately hug her.

Her chin rested on the soft pad of his shoulder, and her hands softly caressed the muscles of his upper back. Hotch did the same, smelling her berry shampoo and moisturizing creams that she had rubbed on her neck. It felt like an eternity being in his arms as they stood there, tired, not saying anything, only reminiscing.

She began to close her eyes, feeling the heaviness of the night weigh down on her. He felt so warm, so content in her arms and she didn't want to pull away.

She had missed this.

Hotch whispered, "What about us, Emily?"

The question took her partly by surprise, she opened her eyes, just staring around the room, wondering the exact same question. She didn't 'not' love him, and she didn't hate his guts, although on some occasions they had bickered like an old married couple. But that was natural with any sort of relationship. Wasn't it?

She hummed, "Why is love so damn complicated?"

Aaron's hands on her upper back started to rub circles, and he felt her lean her ear against his shoulder, her warm breath hitting his neck. "I know you want us together as much as I do…" He lingered. Emily closed her eyes, moving her arms so that they were loosely wrapped around his shoulders and buried her head into the warmth of his neck.

He was so right… She wanted them to be together. She wanted their relationship to be like what it was when it began 14 years ago. Innocent, fresh, loving… Happy.

"Yes…" Emily whispered. She bit the bottom of her lip and swayed with him. "I just… Don't want us to fall into the same trap we did 10 years ago…"

Aaron nodded. His hands smoothed over the curves of her shoulders. It had been the trap of lying and miscommunication that had fractured their relationship. The same things that had ruined his marriage with Haley.

Her eyes truly felt heavy, and all she craved right now was his arms around her. "No more lying…" He whispered. Emily hummed in response. "Come on… I'll take you to bed."

He guided her down to his bedroom, letting her collapse into the right side of the bed- which he knew she preferred- and watched as she buried herself into the blankets. Aaron lay down next to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and nosed his way into the crook of her neck, kissing her softly for the first time in 10 years.

* * *

A/N: So yep... I decided that they had waited long enough.

I figured that they hadn't had any feelings for anyone else apart from each other, and I thought that bonding over pictures of their daughter would really draw them closer. I'm really happy with how this chapter turned out.

Please review and let me know what you think and once again guys, thank you for all the support!


	22. One Solution

A/N: Let me know through a review what you guys think of this chapter. Enjoy!

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It was the sound of heavy rain slashing against the windows that had woken Madison up from a deep sleep. She glanced up to see Bailey sprawled out across her sheets on her stomach, gently snoring away.

She loved hearing the rain. It had that sort of calming sensation of tranquillity. Nobody expected you to go anywhere, nobody expected you to go outside. She could just stay at home in bed and read as many books as she wanted.

Closing her eyes, Madison tried to lull herself back to sleep, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Why was it that when she woke up in the morning that she could never get back to sleep?

Deciding that it was useless trying to fall back into a slumber, she tiptoed into the guest bedroom, wanting to snuggle with her mother. When she saw that Emily wasn't in her bed, Madi furrowed her brow in confusion. She walked into the living room, wondering if her mother was drinking coffee and reading a book.

She wasn't there.

She wasn't in the kitchen either. Where the hell could she be?

Madison even knocked on the door to the bathroom, and there was no response. Panic started to surge in her chest. Did something happen to her mom?

She barged into her father's room, and her mouth dropped open in awe as she saw both parents in bed together, fast asleep. Her father had one arm draped over her mothers' shoulder, while his head buried into the back of her neck.

A broad smile creeped out. Feeling extremely happy that her parents had sorted out whatever differences they had, she sprinted as fast as she could back to Baileys room, shaking the poor girl out of her deep slumber.

Bailey groaned in protest and rolled over so that she was sandwiched against the wall. It was too early, and she was too tired to get out of bed. "Bailey! Bailey! You have to come and see this!"

But her sister wasn't having any of it. Madison rolled her eyes as Bailey shoved a pillow over her ears. Was she the only early-bird in the house?

"Mom and dad are snuggling together…"

That seemed to do the trick, Bailey sat up in bed faster than she could say dinner and sprinted with Madison to their father's bedroom, tiptoeing as they entered the room. Bailey's face erupted into a huge smile.

Bailey whispered under her breath, "Oh my goodness…"

"Do you think they kissed?"

"Oh, I bet you they definitely did!"

"What if mom had a nightmare?"

"Wait…" Bailey held up a finger. "What if… Mom got scared of the dark?"

Her sister scoffed. "She's not scared of the dark, silly. You're the one that's scared of the dark."

This statement offended Bailey, who glanced over at her with wide eyes. She muttered under her breathe, "I am NOT… Scared of the dark."

"You so are…" Madison recalled the night they had spent camping in the woods back at swim camp. Squirrels were digging around their campsite, making little noises here and there which had been scaring Bailey. She was afraid they were going to burrow into their tent.

"Listen… I only screamed because there was a loud noise. Not because it was dark."

Madison nodded her head sarcastically, not really believing her sister's account. Their mother hummed in her sleep, and they slowly tiptoed back out the door, not really wanting to ruin the moment and wake them up.

They looked so peaceful in their slumbers.

It took a moment for Emily to register where she was before she remembered the events of the previous night. Her eyes flickered open and closed, blinking away the sleep stuck in the corners of her eyes. Then, she smiled as she felt his arms draped over the curve of her waist.

She didn't want to move.

Emily heard muffled giggles outside the door, and as she glanced at the hinges, she noticed minor movement. So much for keeping their relationship under wraps.

Rolling over so that she was facing Aaron, her hands traced over his smooth skin. His eyes fluttered open, and he gave her a breathy smile. "I didn't think I would be waking up to a view like this, this morning…"

Emily pursed her lips together, kissing him gently on the lips. He wrapped his arms gently around her shoulders, pulling her closer to his body.

He had missed this. He had missed her.

Pulling apart for air, he smoothed wisps of her messy hair away from her face. "I think we have visitors…" She whispered, gesturing to the door.

The girls crept into the room, jumping on the bed and cuddling into each of their parents. "You're in love!" Bailey announced happily, kissing each parent on the cheek. Emily cracked a smile, scoffing.

There were still a lot of things that she needed to discuss with Aaron, a lot of which probably needed to be addressed sooner than later. However, right now, she was in her happy place. They were all safe. They were all together, and that was all that really mattered to her.

"Yes… We are in love!" Emily replied in the same tone of voice.

"Can we go swimming today?" Madison asked innocently.

Aaron shot Emily a worrying glance. "No Madison… It's not safe at the moment." He said calmly. Both girls pouted, and their eyes saddened.

"Why?"

"Because…" Aaron sat up, leaning his body against the wall behind. "You both know how two bad guys are trying to get us?" The girls nodded in response. "Well, they haven't been caught yet. And if they haven't been caught… It's dangerous to go anywhere."

Bailey furrowed her brow, "Why haven't you caught them yet?"

"Dad's boss told us that we weren't allowed…" Emily began to explain. "Because, sometimes when you work on a case where your family is involved, you can make a lot of mistakes, and people can get hurt."

The girls nodded, and the gears in their heads were visibly turning as they tried to make sense of the situation. "So, who is catching them now?" Madison inquired.

"Another team at the BAU…" Aaron said, placing a kiss on top of Bailey's head.

"But I wanna go outttt…" Bailey drawled. She was getting sick of being stuck inside for the last few days. Even just to go for a brisk walk would satisfy her needs.

Emily nodded and hummed in response. She felt exactly the same way. "I know honey… It won't be for much longer, I promise." Bailey's bottom lip sank, and she buried her head into Aaron's chest, pouting in disappointment. "But I thought… Maybe we could do something fun today…"

The girl's eyes popped up. "Like what?" Madison asked.

"Like making some banana muffins and cake. You do have the ingredients, right?" She asked, looking over to Aaron, who squinted his eyes in response.

He had never baked much with Jack and Bailey as they had grown up, purely because he was away so often with his job. But he knew they had cooked with Jessica a lot. "I'll have to check, if not we can always get an agent to drop off some ingredients to us."

Emily nodded. "Sounds like a plan then."

"Dad?"

"Yes, Madison…"

"I want pancakes for breakfast…"

"Hmmm… Yes." Bailey agreed, feeling her mouth watering. "Can we cook bacon as well and dump lots of maple syrup on top?"

Aaron nodded, looking down at Emily, who had a content smile on her face. "What do you think, mom? Pancakes for breakfast?"

She nodded enthusiastically, "they sound delectable."

"Alright then, Bailey, go show Madison where all the ingredients are."

"Okay!" Both girls ran off, leaving Aaron and Emily alone together again. He lay back down next to her, enveloping her in kisses.

"Wait, wait…" Emily announced, slightly pushing him away. He looked at her with concern in his eyes. Had he done something wrong?

"Em?"

She closed her eyes before biting her bottom lip. "I don't want to rush back into this… Into a relationship." Aaron furrowed his brow and then nodded. "I'm sorry… I just- "

"No… Don't apologize." He said comfortingly as he traced around the outline of her face. "I'm sorry if I gave you that impression..."

"No, it's not you… It's just… I can't properly relax when I know that these guys are still out there. I don't want to rush because…" Emily swallowed. "I'm afraid I'll lose you… All over again."

His eyes held nothing but concern and sadness for her. "Emily… You're not going to lose me…"

She shook her head. "Aaron, I almost lost you with Foyet. You almost lost me with Doyle. We lost each other for 10 years…The fact of the matter is that our relationship is a vulnerability. It always has been and always will be."

Aaron couldn't argue that. She was right. They had the riskiest relationship one could ever ask for, add to the mix children and things became complicated. He silent for a few moments, contemplating her words. Emily continued, "What I'm trying to say is… I don't think I could carry on any longer if I lost you again."

"Em, we both know there are always going to be people out there who want to destroy our relationship."

"These blackmailers destroyed it."

"It would only be destroyed if we never got back together… Even though they kept us apart, we never stopped loving each other. Did we?" Emily gazed into his hazel eyes and shook her head slowly, before leaning into his touch and letting him plant a kiss to her lips.

He broke the kiss, resting his forehead against hers. "I'll wait for as long as you need me to wait if that's going to make you feel better…" Aaron whispered. "But I'm not going to leave you anytime soon. That's a promise I intend to keep."

Emily nodded, feeling tears wanting to roll down her cheeks. They were tears of happiness. "Thank you…"

"Are you gonna help me make breakfast or what?" He asked playfully. Emily wiped the corners of her eyes and smiled.

"No. That's why you've got two minions in the kitchen waiting."

* * *

The delicate smell of banana muffins and chocolate fudge swirled around the apartment. Jack and the girls were hanging out in the kitchen, licking the leftover chocolate mixture from the beater and talking about different sorts of dinosaurs that roamed the planet.

The sound of shrill rings came from the home phone sitting upon the table. Emily- who happened to be on her laptop catching up with work from Interpol- answered the phone in a heartbeat, figuring that it was either Clyde or another agent from the FBI checking up on her.

But what happened next sent her nearly flying out of her seat. It was a deep voice with that hint of evil—a voice whom she didn't recognize. "_I have Penelope… Come to me alone, or she dies." _

The pace of her breathing increased, and she could feel her heart pounding in her head. She knew that she was in a compromised position. She desperately wanted to save Penelope, but she knew that if she left the apartment or even told Aaron what was going on, he'd never let her live it down.

Before she made any more decisions, she needed more information. "If you really have her, put her on." Her nerves were getting the best of her, and it took all her might to not say something that she would regret.

Emily heard the guy scoff, and she immediately wanted to jump through the phone and strangle him to death. She thanked mercy that Aaron walked in, leaning against the doorway and watching her body language in curiosity.

He could tell something was up.

With her increased breathing rate, shaky voice and tears bundling at the corners of her eyes, there could have only been one person on that phone.

One of the unsubs.

"Put on Penelope, you son of a bitch!" She screamed into the phone. Aaron literally sprinted over, snatching the phone from Emily and putting it on speaker.

"This is Aaron Hotchner from the FBI, I request that you do as the lady says." Everyone who knew Hotch well knew that tone of voice. It was the sort of tone that was calm on the outside, but you could sense the anger bubbling beneath. He motioned for Emily to get Agent Davies on her cell phone.

Emily's hands fell over her mouth as she heard muffled whimpers and moans over the line- coming from Penelope. "_Or what? You'll kill me?" _

"Listen… Your ass is going to be hunted and thrown into jail as soon as we find you, so I suggest that you put Miss Garcia on the line."

There was a moment of silence before the unsub muttered, "_You have two minutes. Then I hang up." _Aaron took the phone off speaker mode, as to not cause concern for the kids in the next room.

The muffled cries and whimpers grew louder as the phone got closer to Garcia, "Penelope? Penelope, can you hear me?"

"Yes… Yes… I can hear you." She answered between gasps of air.

"Okay… Listen to me very carefully. You are going to be okay. We are sending help to you, but to do that, you have to describe in detail where you are."

"I… I… I don't know!" She cried. "They blindfolded me…"

"What smells are there? What do you hear? Even just the littlest thing might help."

"I can hear… Sirens."

"That's good Penelope… Really good. What about the temperature?" He could hear the woman hyperventilating.

"Cold! It's cold."

Aaron nodded, "Okay. I need you to just take deep breathes with me, alright. You can't show this unsub fear… He thrives on it. You need to be strong, and I know that seems like a difficult thing for you to do right now, but I need you to be. Think about the happy times in your life… Think about all your Godchildren and the joy they have brought. Tell me you understand Penelope…"

He felt a sense of relief when he heard the pace of her breathing slow. "Yes… Please come quick… Please!"

"_Time's up…" _

The line died, and Aaron threw the phone down on the table in frustration. The loud noise frightened one of the twins in the other room. "Daddy?" Madison asked with fear embedded in her eyes. He shook his head and motioned for all the kids to go back into the kitchen.

Jack furrowed his brow, knowing that expression from his father. "What's going on?"

They could all hear Emily frantically rushing the agents on her cell phone to go save Penelope. Both the girl's eyes widened. "What's happened to Penelope?" Bailey inquired with panic rising in her chest.

Aaron knelt on the carpet, holding one hand in Bailey's, while the other one held Madi's. "I need you guys to stay in here for a while."

"But what about Aunty Penny?" Bailey said with tears rolling down her cheek. "Daddy! What's wrong with her?"

Aaron closed his eyes, not wanting to tell his children about the incident. But he knew that he couldn't lie to them any longer, they deserved to know the truth. All of them did. He released a shaky breath before saying, "Penelope has been taken by one of the bad guys…"

Madison's hands covered her mouth and her eyes watered, while Bailey threw herself around Aaron's shoulders, startling him. He rubbed circles over her back, trying to calm her down.

He had never seen the girl so hysterical.

"No!" She cried. "Not Aunty Penny! Dad… Go save her!" Aaron closed his eyes before reaching out to Madison and Jack, who were standing there in shock.

"I can't help princess…" He whispered.

Emily hung up the phone call with Agent Davies and immediately noticed the sombre expressions on all the kid's faces. Her heart ached for all of them, they didn't deserve to witness something as horrid as this. "Mom…" Madison whispered, burying herself into Emily's shirt.

"Listen to me…" She whispered. "Dad and I need to have a discussion; I need you to go and play down in Bailey's room for a while so that we can save Penelope… Okay?" The girls reluctantly obeyed Emily's order and sombrely walked down the hall. Leaving Jack, Aaron and Emily.

"What can I do to help?" Jack asked. Emily tilted her head to the side, so grateful for the young man Jack had grown into.

"Can you go and watch the twins please Jack… Make sure that they are okay?" Emily asked. He nodded and walked down the hall.

"What did Davies say?" Aaron asked after making sure all the kids were out of earshot. The brunette shook her head and sat down at a chair.

"They've got police and agents patrolling the city, but apart from that they can't do anything…" Her voice trembled at the end, but surprisingly, she held herself together. "There is only one solution to all of this…"

Aaron's brow furrowed for a moment before the realization hit. "Emily… No!"

"Aaron! Before you bite my head off, let me explain… This **isn't** Penelope's fight." She took in a deep breath. "This is my fight. And it has been for the past 10 years! I'm not about to let someone close to me get hurt just because someone is obsessed with me."

Hotch held his hands behind his head and paced around the room, trying to control his breathing. All of it sounded like a terrible idea. Emily continued, "Davies and I agreed that I should be the one to go in."

"Emily. That is ridiculous. There are other solutions, we could get a SWAT team to come in along with a sniper-"

"You know as well as I do that those aren't going to work… Whoever this guy is called because he wants me! He isn't going to kill Penelope, but he will if I don't show up…" Aaron made eye contact with her bloodshot orbs, gazing into them concerned. "Please…" She begged. "I need to do this… I need to end this once and for all…"

He shook his head, furrowing his brow and gasping for his breath. He didn't like this idea at all. "What about the girls? What about Jack? What about us? What about the discussion we had this morning about not leaving each other?"

Emily closed her eyes, sucking in her bottom lip. "Sometimes, there is no other way. This is what is going to save them… I'm the one who has caused them pain their entire lives. They'll be better without me."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Aaron… Trust me."

"I'm not about to let you walk in there killing yourself! Yes, you may have caused the girls pain throughout their lives, but you are **everything **to them! You can't just leave them now! They need you Em…" She released a shaky sigh as she rubbed her pants.

"Penelope also needs me." Emily stood up, picking up the phone and dialled the number. Aaron stood there frozen, knowing that there was no talking her out of her mind. He knew that this was going to be the way that things turned out. For better or for worse…

The line picked up after three rings. "Where am I meeting you?"


	23. The Definition of Love

A/N: Sorry this is a little late guys... Enjoy!

* * *

Her heart pounded; limbs trembled. It was hard to catch her breath. She nibbled at her fingertips, while her eyes glazed over the abandoned building before her; literally falling to pieces.

For a moment, her feet were glued to the pavement. It felt like the whole world was moving a million miles per hour, while she just stood there, motionless. However, as she cautiously glanced around the perimeter, noticing the dozens of police cars and bystanders watching on, the moment was gone.

She jumped as she felt a hand touch her back, "Oh… I'm so sorry to scare you…" Agent Davies apologised. Emily closed her eyes, exhaling as she glanced back up the large, abandoned building.

"What's the plan going into this?"

"Your priority is trying to convince them to release Penelope, which shouldn't be too difficult. They are obsessed with you, so they should do what you say to please you."

Emily nodded, rubbing her hands together. "I also know with these sorts of guys that they don't take orders from women very well…"

The agent nodded. "As soon as Penelope comes out, we'll send units in as fast as we possibly can. In the meantime, I'll need you to distract them."

"Okay…" She breathed.

"When you go in, there's a staircase right at the back of the building, it's the only way up and down. Which is why it'll be tricky to get SWAT in."

Emily sucked in a breath. "What if this doesn't work?"

"I believe in you, Emily Prentiss…" The agent nodded to her, and she nodded back, mentally pushing herself to go inside the building.

The first thing that hit her was the darkness. Her eyes widened as they adjusted to the sudden absence of the sun. Searching for any pinhole of light, Emily tripped over what she believed to be a large piece of wood.

She fell to the floor, grunting as her hand scraped across a nail. She bit down hard on her bottom lip, trying to prevent a screech from coming out; luckily for her, all that came out was a whimper. Her hand stung like hell, and she could feel the blood slowly trickling in the palm of her hand. Clenching it tightly shut, she managed to stand up, and her eyes were able to better adjust to the harsh darkness surrounding her.

Emily had to hold her breath as the smell of rotted wood, musty paint and her blood wafted around. The one thing people didn't tell you about abandoned places was how foul-smelling they could be. She could have even sworn that someone had brought takeout in here recently.

Rats scattered their feet around the dirty floor like birds in a swarm, crawling through vile vents and half-broken drains. Pieces of the wooden floor above hung down like stalactites; only moments from giving way and collapsing into a pile of dust.

She could hear the sirens blaring outside, and little whines and creaks within the large metal poles supporting the building. Emily tried squinting her eyes in the darkness to look at her injured hand, all that she could see was a large pool of liquid over it. She cursed to herself, mad that she hadn't even approached the unsub yet and she had already given herself an injury.

Shaking her head, she observed the floor, looking for any outlines of more wood or trash that she could potentially trip over. After clearing the bottom room, her feet led her to the staircase, which in all honesty did not look that appealing to walk on, considering how old and rotted the planks looked.

Planting one foot on the first step, she tested her weight. Deciding that it was relatively safe to go up the stairs, she slowly but surely made her way up. It wasn't until she reached an old and rusted door that she heard mumbles and whispers coming from behind. She recognised Penelope's panicked voice, and with that, Emily barged into the upper room without a moment of hesitation, demanding that her best friend be released.

She must have taken the unsub by surprise because he immediately gripped his forearm around the front of Penelope's neck while using his other hand to hold a knife to her head.

Emily felt someone tug her hands behind her, and then she felt a rope be tied tightly around her wrists. She didn't bother fighting and let the man drag her to a chair, practically pushing her into it. Immediately, she flashed back to an all too familiar incident over a decade ago—the event with Doyle.

"Pat her down for weapons…" She heard the unsub holding a knife to Penelope say. It was the same malicious voice that had spoken to her on the phone.

Fear surged through as she thought about the things that these two unsubs were going to do to her. The pace of her breathing increased, and she could feel intense heat rising to all aspects of her skin, causing perspiration to pool on her head.

It seemed to be much lighter up here, and she was able to shoot a glance at the unsubs. The one near Penelope had a dark hood on, making it difficult to identify any physical features. He looked to be of a slim build, but also very toned. Telling Emily that this guy worked out like his life depended on it.

"Cowardice…" Emily said to herself as she glanced at his hood. The number one thing that she had learnt working as a profiler was that you could tell a lot about someone just in a few seconds. And this guy had insecurity written all over him. "Loner… Narcissist."

Tilting her head around, she caught a glimpse of the man busy tying her to the chair. He looked oddly familiar and realised that this was Tomas Fielding. The guy who had been her nurse in the ICU. The guy who had followed her to London where he stalked her as a janitor. The guy who had threatened her family. "We meet once again, Tomas."

As she spoke, the tightness of the rope increased, and she grunted as he pulled on her sore hand. He whispered dangerously close to her ear, so much so she could feel his hot and sickly breath. "Keep quiet…"

Unfortunately for Emily, she never was one to keep quiet. "I won't keep quiet… We made a deal, release Penelope and keep me."

After making sure that the brunette was safely secured to the chair, the unsub holding the knife eased up. Taking his hood down, Emily first noticed a large mop of dirty blonde hair. And then it was his face. All covered in cuts and bruises. Black bags underlined his eyes, and he hadn't shaved for ages, with grubby sideburns stained with dried blood.

She held her breath as he limped over to her, pausing to brush a strand of her hair out of her face. "It's so good to see you again… Emily." He said her name with malice.

Emily scoffed. "Wish I could say the same for you. I don't even know who you are." His dark brown eyes squinted at her, and his mouth opened slightly, breathing heavily on her face. She smelt the scent of alcohol and bad breath, and it made her want to gag. Deciding to play it cool, she asked, "So, are you gonna tell me your name or not?"

The unsub cocked his head to the side, with a devilish smile forming on his face. This guy obviously had insecurity issues, which he dealt with through addiction; alcohol from what Emily observed, and for all she knew illicit drugs too. The bruises, scars and cuts over his face indicated an aggressive and dominant personality. From the holes and patches in his jeans, she assumed that he didn't take great pride in the way he presented himself.

This was a psychopathic alpha male. Typically, from what Emily had seen as a profiler, these sorts of men hated it when they were opposed by someone in equal strength. They hated it when people questioned them about their decisions, and when people didn't do as they requested.

When he didn't respond, Emily just made up a name for him. "Jeremy… I always hated that name in high school. Oh wait, you already knew that, since you seem to know everything about my life."

Emily's breath shuddered as the cold pocketknife in his hand traced across the edge of her skin underneath her neck, only moments from cutting her open. It probably wasn't the most fabulous idea antagonising the guy, but she felt the anger bubbling inside. "How about you use that pocketknife to cut off those ropes holding Penelope to that chair." Emily motioned over to her friend whimpering, who still had her blindfold on.

The blonde unsub nodded to Tomas, and Emily watched as he untied Penelope from the chair, shoving her down the stairs and out the building. 'Jeremy's' eyes never left Emily. She closed her eyes tightly as he breathed slowly down her neck, inhaling her scent before gently placing a kiss to her skin. Her body jerked in response, feeling his saliva dripping down into her shirt.

"I've been waiting for this moment… God, you are so beautiful." There was nothing Emily could do as he ripped apart the turquoise shirt she was wearing with his bare hands, exposing her small breasts to him.

It felt disgusting, the sick feeling of his dirty hands touching her was enough to make Emily want to spit into his face, so she did. Evoking a furious reaction out of him. He gripped her hair tightly and pulled roughly, dragging her across the floor- still on the chair- and causing Emily to weep in severe pain.

"How dare you…" He spat back in her face. "I give you love, and this is what I get in return?"

"That's not love… You don't know what the hell love even is. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you've never been in love." She regretted saying that because what happened next caused her a great deal of pain.

He literally chucked the chair she was sitting in across the room. She landed on her side- still tied up- with her head hitting the ground hard. She was numb for a moment, and then the dizziness hit. All sorts of blurry figures floated in and out of her vision. "Untie her…" She heard him order.

There was hesitation from the subordinate. "You sure about that? She's a feisty one."

"YES! I AM SURE ABOUT IT! NOW UNTIE HER BEFORE THIS KNIFE GOES INTO YOUR BRAIN!"

She moaned in pain as Tomas stood above her and aggressively pulled the ties off her wrists and legs, before dragging her up to her feet again. She stumbled for balance, grasping onto Tomas for stability. "Let go of her…" The blonde unsub reprimanded in his Alpha male voice. "She's mine."

The dizziness was overwhelming as Tomas let go of her, she was about to fall back to her knees until the other unsub caught her in his arms. He immediately placed a long, aggressive kiss to her lips. Emily fought with all her might to push out of his arms, falling to the floor.

He kicked her in the stomach, winding her. And as the first wave of dizziness subsided, she struggled to catch her breath again. Once she did, Emily pushed herself up from the floor, kicking the guy in the balls. He screamed in pain, and Emily wanted to laugh at him. It must have been true what they say about women tolerating pain better than men. Tomas stood to the side in awe, not sure what to do with himself.

Tomas was a fascinating character to Emily. He showed all the typical signs of a sociopath, and yet, he didn't seem to get the 'thrill' most sociopathic individuals got when torturing individuals. It was in that very moment that she realised that Tomas was not the real threat here, he was as much of a victim as she was. That didn't necessarily mean she wasn't angry with him though, no, the anger she had for him was still there. Just because someone is a victim didn't give them the right to hurt others.

Emily tried running away down the stairs, but not before 'Jeremy' grabbed hold of her legs, and before she knew it was being dragged back to the centre of the room. He slapped her hard across the face, groaning as she felt her cheek burn. He pinned her down, coughing as his massive weight crushed her diaphragm. "I'm surprised you don't remember me, Em."

The memory of his dark, emotionless eyes staring into hers only inches away would be a memory that scarred her for the rest of her life. There was nowhere else to look, even turning her head away from him hurt and made her feel intense dizziness. "You'd have to have done something extremely memorable for me to remember you…"

The look on his face was a look of insult. "You seriously don't remember." She shook her head, pursing her lips together. "Well… Let me remind you. We've known each other for a very, very long time… I have one word for you Em. Garfield High."

She squinted her eyes in confusion. Why the hell did he mention her old high school? "What about it?"

"You. Me. That's where we met."

Her brow furrowed. Then suddenly, memories of her old high school days came flooding back. She remembered ditching school at break times, playing pranks on teachers. And then that one dodgy kid at school who she always tried to avoid. "Marcus Finch." She spat into his face. "I knew there was a reason I erased you from my memory."

Marcus Finch was the sort of kid at school who was super quiet in class, but who everyone knew had a history with drugs and alcohol. He was the go-to kid if anyone ever needed a hit. Back then, Emily was a bit of a drug addict herself, which had caused tension between herself and her parents. But she had never taken drugs from Marcus at all, she remembered very vividly the rumours that flew around the school saying that he had laced the drugs with poison. She may not have believed them back then, but she could certainly believe that now.

"Took you long enough." His hands fumbled underneath her bra, and Emily shook her head, trying to shift from underneath him, it just wasn't working though. "You know… You've always fascinated me. What made you want to work for the FBI?"

She raised an eyebrow, wondering why he would ask such a question."To catch dooshbags like you…" He laughed to himself.

"Yeah… I thought you might say something like that. You haven't done a great job. Finding me, I mean." A wave of dizziness overcame her again as a lack of oxygen was able to get into her with his weight on top. "Oh… I'm sorry. Can't breathe?" Emily choked out as his hands gripped her throat, her skin was beginning to turn even paler than it already was, and she felt her vision starting to tunnel.

He released his grip on her, and she gasped for air, moaning as every muscle in her body ached. "In a few moments… They're gonna storm in here… And… And… Your ass is gonna go to prison, where I will never… Have to see you… Again."

His gaze was stone cold as she muttered those words… Emily shut her eyes tightly, wishing for someone to come inside. She was over this.

She had to push back the thoughts of her little girls who were threatening to invade her mind. There was no way that she could think about them right at this second, thinking about them would only make her break down into tears. And tears were the last thing that would help her right now.

In a moment of weakness, Emily was able to push Marcus off her, and he landed on the ground with a thud. The fist of her uninjured hand contacted his crooked nose, not once, not twice, but three times. Blood spilled out from his nose, staining her hand red. The moment was interrupted as Emily felt someone tug her away from Marcus by her waist. She struggled and tried to wriggle out of the tight grasp.

Tomas chucked the woman to the floor, and the last thing Emily remembered before her vision tunnelled into one big black blob was her family.

* * *

Aaron pushed his way through the mob of bystanders watching in fascination at the scenes unfolding behind the 'Do Not Cross' tape. Flashing his badge to the police officer, he leapt over the yellow tape and sprinted across to Agent Davies unit, who were busy removing their FBI vests.

"Emily. Is she okay?" He asked desperately. The frown on Agent Davies face softened, and she led Aaron to the ambulance. His eyes glanced around the vehicles, noticing two men in separate cars. His hands balled into fists, and his eyes squinted at each one of them. Had there not been any people around and he would have strangled them to death himself.

His attention turned back to the agent, "She suffered some injuries while in there… But she is going to be okay."

He nodded. "Thank you."

The back door opened, and he spotted Emily lying fragilely on the bed, with an oxygen mask covering her face. His heart broke as he took a closer look at her, noticing how pale her skin was. He could feel bile coming up his throat as he saw the dried blood all over her hands, which were now being wrapped up in bandages. Her eyes were gently closed, and her breathing was shallow.

One of the paramedics explained that Emily had suffered a nasty concussion and was in and out of consciousness. That was the worst of her injuries, along with a potentially infected open wound in her left hand and lots of bruising. "Can I ride along with her to the hospital?"

The paramedic nodded, and Aaron was able to sit at the head of the bed, looking down on Emily. He smoothed his hand over her bruised skin, feeling so helpless and so irate. His eyes were fuelled with fire, and yet so much love for the woman lying motionless on the bed. He rested a hand on her shoulder, not removing it for the rest of the trip to the hospital.

* * *

A/N: That's the fight scene pretty much done for this story guys. I am thinking that there will be about 2 more chapters to wrap everything up. Thanks to all for the amazing reviews and encouragement! They really do mean so much to me, and they have helped sustain me and provided me with inspiration to continue this story.

See you all next week!


	24. Family

A/N: Sorry that this final chapter has taken so long to be uploaded, I actually have been working on another Hotchniss fanfic which I will be uploading within coming weeks. So yes, this is the last and final chapter for this story. I have thoroughly enjoyed writing it and I hope you all have enjoyed reading it. Again, thanks for the reviews you all have submitted... They really have kept me going and helped me finish this story. I hope to see you all soon in future fanfics! Thanks, everyone!

* * *

_Flashes of beautiful light swirled around her; dazzling shades of violet, bright neon green, the mellowest of yellows. Then they all combined to form one big ball of white light. Holding her hands in front of her eyes, she tried shielding it. However, it was impossible to keep it out. After what seemed like hours, the white light started to fade, and two figures emerged; their silhouettes making their way into her vision._

_They were tiny, and as they came closer, they grew larger. She started to make sense of their facial features, with their thin nose and dark eyes identical to her own. They were wearing silky white dresses, holding a bouquet of flowers in each of their hands. _

_Then, suddenly, they disappeared into the white light again. It began to fade, and immediately, she was shrouded in complete darkness._

* * *

It was impossible to describe what he felt as he saw her lying there motionless on the bed, with the gentle pulsing of the bedside monitor beeping repeatedly in his ear. The air conditioning in the room hummed, and although the breeze felt nice on his skin, he found himself shivering slightly.

He felt the phone vibrating in his pocket, it was Rossi calling. "Hotch! Are you okay? Is Emily okay? I only just heard about what had happened…"

Aaron nodded slowly to himself, replying, "Yeah, she is okay… Thank God." He stood up, standing outside the room as to not wake up his former partner sleeping soundly. "She's been knocked out for a couple hours Dave. Whatever they did to her…" His breath caught at the thought of what had happened, it made him feel sick to his stomach. "She's not good…"

Dave simply nodded on the other line. "I'm so sorry… She will be in great care up there, Aaron. I'll be up within the hour. Is there anything that I can do for you?"

The boss shook his head and leaned against the doorway, looking in sullenly at the sleeping brunette. "No Dave, I don't even want the kids to see her like this…" The girls would be so upset seeing their mother all broken and bruised.

"Okay." He replied simply. "Take care…"

"I will…" he shoved the phone back in his pocket and returned to Emily's bedside, grasping her injured hand gently. "I'm so sorry, Em…" It was all he could muster.

A short time later, her eyes fluttered open. At first, a white ceiling clouded her vision, and it took her a moment to realise all that had occurred. After realising she was stuck at a hospital, her eyes glanced around the room, Aaron stood above her, smoothing his hand over her forehead.

Emily could have freaked out there and then, but she remained calm, feeling soothed by the softness of his touch. Everything in her body felt sore… Even to wiggle her toes made her whimper in pain. Removing the oxygen mask from her face, she felt liberated to breathe. "Aaron…"

He shushed her, telling her to conserve energy. Emily didn't want to be quiet, though. Memories as a teenager mixed with memories from her career. She felt like she was dreaming, yet everything felt so vivid, so real. "What… What… Happened?"

Aaron sat down, pulling the chair closer to the bed, his hand cradled the crown of her head. "They're gone now… The blackmailers…" A blank expression greeted him, and she blinked. However, he saw a single tear ride down the curve of her pale cheek. He wiped it away gently. "You made them go away, Emily…"

She closed her eyes and leant as far back into her pillow as much as she could, stifling a moan. Her body ached and ached. Aaron seemed to sense this and rubbed a soothing hand over her arm. "Just rest Em… I know that it hurts."

"The kids…" She whispered, suddenly remembering them. "Please tell me they are okay?"

Hotch reassured her, "they are perfectly fine."

Emily sucked in a shallow breath, "I need… To see them."

"They will be here soon. Just drift off to sleep… Get some rest."

"I can't rest… I just want to see my babies. I want to see them now. Please… Please can you bring them in."

Hotch tried with all his might to change the subject, "Emily. Trust me, you don't want them to see you like this."

She slowly nodded and muttered, "I know but… I miss them…" The brunette's bottom lip trembled as she glanced into his hazel eyes.

Hotch leant in closer, whispering into her ear, "Em- "

"Aaron. Please don't prolong the torture any more… I've already suffered enough." Emily begged with tears freely rolling down her cheeks. She couldn't have cared less about whatever else had been happening in the world. All she craved right now were her babies safely in her arms.

Hotch looked on sadly at Emily laying powerless in the bed. He supposed it would brighten her day to bring the kids in, so he whispered, "I'll ask Jessica to bring them in." The woman nodded happily and wiped the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Thank you…" She barely whispered.

* * *

"Dad!" Both girls shouted down the hospital corridor, running down towards Aaron.

Hotch caught both in each arm and knelt, placing a long and gentle kiss to each of their foreheads. After the anxiety, worry and drama of the last few days, it felt so reassuring to have them safely in his arms, "My girls…" He smiled up to Jessica, who caught up.

Bailey snuggled into her father's shirt, "We've been so worried about Mom, is she okay? Can we see her? What about Penelope?"

Hotch held up a hand, "Okay, okay, one question at a time. Mom and Penelope are both okay."

"But?" Madison asked with fear in her eyes.

"But she got into a fight with the bad guys and suffered some injuries."

A moment of silence passed as the girls processed what he had told them, "What sort of injuries?" Madison whispered with obvious concern plastered in her expression.

"A concussion… Bruising… I just want you to know that she is going to be a bit emotional and a bit out of it because the doctors have been giving her lots of medicine to help with her pain." Madison tried keeping her eyes wide open as tears threatened to fall and Hotch pulled her body close to his, "My girl… It's okay. She's going to be okay." Aaron tried to reassure the girl.

It broke his heart, knowing everything these girls had gone through and now they had to visit their mother with all sorts of injuries. Aaron knew that things could have gone way worse, but still, seeing a loved one in the hospital looking so weak and fragile brought a tear to anyone's eye.

"I know… It's just scary."

He rubbed a hand over her back, "Yes, my girl… It's scary, indeed. Should we go see her now?" Everyone nodded, and Hotch guided them safely to Emily's room, resting a hand on each of their shoulders.

When they first entered the room, Emily instantly felt lighter, "My babies…" She practically cried, reaching an arm out to them.

Madison lingered next to Hotch a moment longer while Bailey wasted no time in sitting up next to her mother, "Mommy…" She whispered, burying her face into the crevasse of her neck.

Emily kissed the tip of her hair before whispering, "I'm so happy to see you all… I feel so much happier now…" After getting used to seeing her mother look so battered and bruised, Madison carefully made her way up to the bed, snuggling close to Emily.

"Mom, your head…"

Emily had forgotten a side of her forehead had to be patched up, "It's not as bad as it looks Madi… What did you guys do while I was away?" She asked, wanting to change the subject away from her injuries.

Bailey piped up, "We made a fort, watched Forest Gump, ate brownies and muffins."

Emily felt a huge sense of relief that they had been distracted. "It sounds like you had so much fun."

Bailey's eyes softened, and she asked, "When are you coming out of hospital, mom?"

Hotch made eye contact with Emily's tired eyes and leant back against the wall, crossing his arms together. In his mind, Emily would be here until he knew that she was ready to go.

"I don't know honey… Whenever the doctors say that I'm better."

Madison's head fell to the pillow, and she whispered, "It's not fair that they hurt you…"

Emily nodded, "sometimes, you have to get hurt really bad to stay alive. And you know what, I'd get hurt over and over again if it meant protecting you from those bad men." Her children meant everything to her.

"Do you know what the best part about the bad guys being gone?" Hotch added from the wall.

"We can do whatever we want!" Bailey shouted excitedly. Aaron sat down on the edge of the bed, rolling his eyes.

"Within reason."

"And we won't have to be separated again… Right, mom? I don't want to go back to London… I like everything here." Madison said gravely.

Emily brushed a hand through her daughters head before pecking her on the cheek, "no honey, we don't have to go back to London… However, I will need to go over to move everything back here." The girls nodded, smiling slightly at the prospect of a family reunited. "I promise that we'll never separate you ever again…"

Aaron motioned for the girls to jump off the bed, "Come on my princesses, your mom needs to rest."

* * *

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Aaron asked her soothingly 5 days later. Emily, who had been busy reading a book, glanced up and let out a breathy sigh. She had denied what had happened for as long as she could because she just couldn't bring herself to relive her injuries. "Please Emily… It will help us both move on."

She snapped the book shut and stared out the window, gazing at a dazzling sunset. The hospital had been fantastic looking after her, but it had been getting to the point where Emily wanted to leave. She yearned to be home with her girls and Jack. The concussion had virtually vanished, and the only reason she'd been staying was due to intravenous antibiotics for an infected hand.

Hotch continued, "who were these guys that hurt you?" Aaron sat beside her on the bed, reaching out for her hand, which was still healing. He clasped it gently, letting his thumb caress the crevasses and broken skin.

Emily cocked her head to the side and let her eyes fall to the bedsheets, "Marcus Finch…" She whispered. "I don't… I never…" Letting out a breathy sigh, she muttered, "I don't know what I ever did to make him angry."

She'd been going through her head repeatedly why Marcus had chosen her. What had his deal been? Why had he destroyed the family? And then there was Tomas, who had been a sidekick. Someone who didn't desire to hurt her but did anyway. Hotch nodded, "You met Marcus at high school?"

"Yes..." She closed her eyes, "obviously, I was somebody who he took a liking to… But I don't think we'll ever know what went through his mind. And I don't want to know, Aaron. I really don't…" Aaron kissed her on the forehead before cupping her cheek with one hand, "I know you used to tell us back in the early days that the best way to profile someone is to get into their mind…" She shook her head, "don't make me dig my way into his mind."

"He's a nasty psycho that ruined our family life, of course, I'm not going to force you to understand what he's thinking."

"He wanted something more from me… And I didn't give it to him. That's all I want you to know about him." Emily said with cold ire in her eyes. "I know that this is impossible to forget, I just want to move on Aaron. I want to be with you and the kids. I want to raise them and protect them from everything." A tear rolled down her cheek. "Can't we just be a family?"

Aaron moved in closer, embracing her body and pecking a slow kiss to her neck, "we are a family Emily…" He moved to her lips, gently pulling on them with his teeth while she closed her eyes and inhaled his unique cologne.

In between kisses, she whispered, "I know… We have such beautiful girls, don't we?"

"Two beautiful girls that brought us all together again."

* * *

\- Finished-


End file.
